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COMMON SENSE GARDENS 




'ST 



COMMON SENSE 
GARDENS 

HOW TO PLAN AND PLANT THEM 

By 

CORNELIUS V V SEWELL 




NEW-YORK 



MDCCCCVI 



THE • GRAFTON • PRESS 

PUBLISHERS 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

TwoGoDles Received 

APh 19 1906 

/ Copyright Entry 
CUASS QJ ^ m. No, 
^ COPY B. 






Copyright, 1906, 
Bt the GRAFTON PRESS. 




PREFACE 

The history of the 
^ world was begun in a 
garden, and to judge 
by the temper antl 
sentiment of the rising genera- 
tion it is Hkely to end in one. 
Every year more and more people 
seek the country, not only in 
Summertime when the lanes and 
byways are aglow with flowers 
and merry with the songs of 
birds, but also in Winter when Nature has ''wrapped 
the draperies of her couch about her and laid down 
to pleasant dreams." As our forefathers knew, we 
are beginning to learn that the lasting pleasures of 
life are not to be found in the teeming cities, but 
in the fields and woods within sound of the voice 
of Nature who is forever calling her children home. 
When an Enghshman accumulates a small 
fortune he retires to the country to live before 
his youth is spent and his health broken, for he 
knows that in the open a man need never grow 
old; his great ambition in life is to leave the city 



Vlll rilEFACK 

behind him. What better friends can a man make 
for his dechning years than the trees and flowers; 
what fairer heritage can he leave to his children 
than a garden? But if one persistently snubs 
Nature at forty, she may return the compliment 
at three-score-years-and-ten. 

When a man buys a place in the country 'the 
first thing his wife thinks of is a garden, and it is 
generally the last thing that he makes. If he is 
chided for his lack of interest in the gentle art of 
horticulture, he will probably reply that he has 
become discouraged since strolHng through the 
grounds of his rich neighbour who has laid out 
some of his surplus milhons in glass houses, oran- 
geries, vineries, velvet lawns, statues of Pan, foun- 
tains, sylvan lakes, nymphean groves and grots 
(with nymphs) and many other outward and visi- 
ble signs of modern opulence. And discourage- 
ment would no doubt be natural unless he possessed 
modest tastes and a well-defined idea of the gen- 
eral fitness of things. 

The following chapters were designed to point 
out to the owners of small and unostentatious 
places a way to plant their grounds and make their 
gardens with small expense ; to use the best known 
indigenous trees and the shrubs and plants that 
have been identified for so long with American 
gardens that they have become American by 



PREFACE IX 

adoption; and, to obtain with these, good and last- 
ing effects that will be the means of ever-increasing 
enjoyment, yet will not entail the cares and 
worries that inevitably accompany elaborateness 
and display. 

In the course of time the furniture of our fore- 
fathers went out of fashion and was superseded 
by many different styles more or less fantastic, 
and generally hideous, yet after a hundred years 
or more we find the chairs of Chippendale and 
the mirrors and tables of Hepple white just as 
beautiful as on the day they were made, and 
just as effective and dignified in a new house as 
in an old one, because they had merit, because 
brains and skill and time were given to their 
making. 

So it is with the gardens, and with the shrubs 
and trees; those that possessed merit once possess 
it still, and those that were beautiful a hundred 
years ago are just as beautiful to-day, in fact 
more beautiful, because with the passing of Time 
they have become enhaloed by sentiment and 
tradition, 

" A thing of beauty is a joy forever; 
Its loveliness increases, it will never 
Pass into nothingness." 

New styles and new fashions in flowers have been 
introduced and have had their day, yet the Roses 



X PEEFACE 

and Lilacs of yesterday still possess their charms 
of colour and form and perfume, charms that a 
Burbank with all his magic has been unable to 
dissipate, and these our grandchildren will enjoy 
as much as their grandfathers enjoyed them. 

If anyone should use the suggestions set forth 
in Common Sense Gardens and be dissatisfied with 
the results that are obtained, the defects may be 
easily remedied: call in a nurseryman or a land- 
scape gardener and give him carte blanche to im- 
prove your grounds with pergolas, rustic benches, 
wire arches, rare trees and plants, and so forth; 
a great transformation may be worked in a short 
time. Of two evils the lesser should always 
be chosen, but in any event your wife and chil- 
dren should have a garden in which to work and 
play. 

The illustrations in Common Sense Gardens are 
for the most part from photographs that I have 
taken from time to time in my own and other 
gardens. The figures of walls, arches, fences, 
gates and so forth, are reproductions of those 
found in old gardens, and were designed under my 
supervision for the book; the plan of planting is 
of my own garden. Acknowledgment is made to 
Country Life (English) for pictures of English gar- 
dens; and to House and Garden for the picture of 
an old garden at Camden, South Carolina. I de- 



PREFACE XI 

sire also to mention the following books of refer- 
ence and to acknowledge their influence : Old Time 
Gardens, Mrs. Earle; English Pleasure Gardens, 
Nichols; The Formal Garden in England, Bloom- 
field; Some English Gardens, George S. Elgood 
and Gertrude Jekyl. 

Cornelius V. V. Sewell. 
Eastover, 
Rye, New York, 
March, 1906. 




I Gardens of the North and South 
II A Common Sense Garden 

III The Garden Enclosure 

IV Laying out the Garden 
V A Few Good Trees 

VI Evergreens and Old Box 
VII Choosing Shrubs and Small Trees 
VIII Good Shrubs for the Yard 
IX Walls of Stone and Brick 
X Fences and Hedges 
XI Old and New Roses 
XII Ever-blooming and Climbing Roses 
AND Vines ..... 

XIII Filling in With Colour 

XIV The Best Perennials for the Gar^ 

DEN ...... 

XV Naturalizing . . . . 

XVI A Small Water Garden 



1 

21 

39 

57 

73 

97 

127 

147 

165 

185 

209 

233 

267 

287 
325 
369 




ILLUSTRATIONS 



The Garden Enclosure ; Mt. 

Vernon . Frontispiece 

PAGE 

English Labourer's Cottage ... 5 
Roses and Lilies in an English Dooryard 9 
A Corner of the Garden; Mt. Vernon . 13 
Old Garden; Camden, South Carolina . 17 
Looking down into the Garden . . 23 
A NEW Garden; Spring . . , . .27 
Flowering Almond in the Garden . .31 
Box Hedges at Mt. Vernon . . .35 
Old Walled English Garden . . .41 
An Enclosed English Garden . . . 45 

A Garden Fence 49 

The Pergola at Arlington . . .53 
Privet Hedge around the Garden; Pin 

Oaks in Background . . . .59 
Box Edging at Mt. Vernon . . .63 



XVI 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

Old Box Hedge 65 

Old Box .67 

Lilacs behind an Old Wall . . .69 
A Well-Framed Garden . . . .75 
White Oak and Spruce . . . .79 
White Oak in Winter . . . .84 
White Oaks in Winter holding their 

Leaves 89 

Avenue of Maples 91 

Pin Oak in Winter 92 

Transplanted Pin Oaks . . . .94 
Nursery-grown White Pine Trees . . 101 
Spruce, Pine and Cedar .... 105 

Group of Cedars 107 

Cedar Growing on top of Rock . . 109 
Red Cedars on the Lawn . . . .113 
Box and Yew in an English Garden . 117 

Old Box 121 

Arbor Vit^ Pyramidalis .... 124 
Trees and Shrubs in the Garden; Mt. 

Vernon 129 

Old Stone Gateway 133 

]\Iagnolias on the Terrace; Virginia . 139 
Old Box Archway ; Flushing, Long Island 143 



Old Syringa in a Cottage Yard 

Wild Rhododendrons in front of an Old 

Wall 

Rhododendron on the edge of a Wood 



149 

155 
159 



ILLUSTRATIONS XVll 

PAGE 

Brick Wall in an English Garden . 167 

Old Stone Wall 171 

Picket Fence on a low Brick Wall . 174 
Another Wall with Picket Fence . . 176 
Old Southern Wall with Moulded Brick 

Cap 177 

Old Brick Wall with Moulded Cap . 178 
Brick Retaining Wall . . . .179 

Old English Gate 180 

Entrance to Forecourt; Mt. Vernon . 181 
Box Walk; Mt. Vernon .... 187 

Arched Gateways 189 

Picket Fence 190 

Arches and Hedges 191 

Posts for Fences or Hedges . . . 193 

Hemlock Hedge 195 

Nasturtiums climbing over Privet Hedge 199 
Old Box Hedge near Baltimore . . 202 
Old Box Hedge . . . . . 205 

Garden Path; Wraxhall Manor . .211 
Old English Dove Cote .... 215 
Old Thatched Chalk Wall . . . 219 
Stone Steps and Gateway . . . 223 

Rose Beds 232 

Rose Beds Enlarged into Rose Gar- 
den 235 

Roses on a Brick Wall .... 241 
Dawson Rose on a Pear Tree . . 249 



XVm ILLUSTRATIONS 

I'AGE 

White Rambler on an Apple Tree . . 255 

Rose Garden 261 

In the Garden; Mt. Vernon . . . 271 
Yew Buttresses; Arley .... 275 

Yew Alcoves 279 

The Yew Garden; Arley .... 283 
Garden Path with Sundial . . . 289 
Phlox of all Colours in the Garden ; July 293 
German Iris in the Garden . . . 297 

White Japan Iris 301 

Phlox and Funkia 307 

White Phlox in the Garden . . .313 
Campanula Pyramidalis . . . .319 
Narcissi in the Field .... 324 

Narcissi Naturalized along a Stream . 327 
Narcissi in the Grass . . . .331 
Crocus in the Grass .... 335 

Foxgloves along a Woodland Path . 339 

Trumpet Narcissus 342 

Poet's Narcissus 346 

Perennials bordering an Old Path . 351 

A Good Opportunity for Naturalizing . 355 
Iris on the edge of the Lawn . . 359 

Lavender 361 

Plan of Planting the Floaver Garden 363-366 
Old English Water Garden . . . 368 

Garden Seats 371, 375 

Plan of Planting Water Garden . 379-382 



COMMON SENSE GARDENS 



COMMON SENSE GARDENS 




early New England days the 
residences of the government 
officials, and later the more preten- 
tious mansions of the rich merchants 
were provided with gardens copied on a 
small and less elaborate scale from the 



2 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

gardens of England, for the homes of the bet- 
ter classes were generally situated in the heart 
of the town. The New England merchant when 
he retired from business was careful to re- 
main in touch with civilization as he had al- 
ways known it, and rarely isolated himself on a 
large and lonely estate in the depths of the 
country, which in those clays, to be sure, was 
for the most part an un tracked wilderness abound- 
ing in wild beasts and savages. His pleasure 
seems to have been derived principally from 
watching the struggles of his successors with 
the problems that he had met and conquered, 
rather than from an unlimited contemplation 
of nature, for which he had a certain amount of 
respect and perhaps regard, but rarely any inti- 
mate friendship. 

The early gardens of New England were made 
when grandeur and magnificence were not much 
practised by the descendants of the most stern 
Puritans, when their resources were somewhat 
limited. They were maintained more as a hnk 
between the old and the new, between the past 
of bitter memory and the future fulsome with the 



GARDENS OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH 6 

hope that springs eternal in the human breast. 
Seeds of the old, well-loved flowers that had 
been gathered in sorrow and often wet with silent 
tears were carefully saved and transported with 
the household gods to the land of promise. 
There they were sown under the quickening rays 
of the dazzhng sun, which like the pil ar of fire 
of the children of Israel had led them out of 
the wilderness into the flowery meads of free- 
dom. 

The fittest of these flowers survived and have 
come down to the garden makers of to-day, often 
hybridized and enlarged and not always improved, 
but still exhaling the perfumes of old that com- 
forted the wanderers in a strange land, and brought 
welcome heartsease in time of sorrow. With 
them are linked memories of the days of our fore- 
fathers, around which such a halo of romance and 
mystery has always hung. 

With the exception of a few rich merchants of 
Plymouth, Portsmouth and Salem, and a small 
number of prosperous planters in Rhode Island, 
the inhabitants of the New England colonies were 
not as well blessed with this world's goods as were 



4 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

their fellow countrymen in the South who lived 
in a land that literally flowed with milk and honey. 
And at no period of his career did the New Eng- 
lander of yore embrace the fashion of princely 
living as it is called to-day, for it was a fashion 
that was opposed to his teachings and against the 
precepts that had been bred in his bone for genera- 
tions. Even though unwonted prosperity came 
eventually to dull his Puritan conscience he was 
quite content to lay out a modest garden adjoin- 
ing his house, which was generally in town. This 
back yard, which in reality is what it was, he 
enclosed with a high fence or wall and used as 
the old Roman gardens or the gardens of the 
Renaissance were used, as a secluded room of his 
house in which to transact important business 
with privacy; as a sanctuary from the thousand 
and one worries of everyday life; as a retreat to 
which to repair in the heat of the day, or in which 
to recline beneath his own vine and fig tree when 
the sun was sinking below the tree-tops. There 
wine and cake were served to the guest upon 
arrival, or to the casual visitor even if he came 
within an hour of mealtime, as tea and toast are 



GARDENS OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH 7 

served to-day. There the members of his family 
foregathered from their various occupations when 
the shadows were lengthening and the hedge- 
sparrows nesting in the thicket. 

After a time the yard became an adjunct of the 
house so that one was rarely planned without the 
other. The front-yard garden has been insepa- 
rable from the English cottage since before the 
time of Elizabeth, and it is from the cottage of 
England that the cottage of New England in- 
herited its bed of simples and its garlands of bloom. 
It is found in some form in every class of dwelling, 
from the stately homestead of broad acres to the 
small, unpainted cottage of the farm labourer, and 
generally owes its particular charms to the minis- 
trations of the women who, in days gone by, were 
associated in a more or less vague way in the mind 
of man with flowers, and credited with many of 
their attractive qualities. 

This characteristic of the New England home is 
plainly in evidence as soon as the boundaries of 
that area are approached, in many instances its 
influences have overflowed beneficently into the 
adjoining counties of New York. When the home- 



8 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

stead was built near the road, as it generally was 
for convenience sake, three or four trees whose 
genus varied with the section of country, but which 
were generally either White Pines, Maples or Elms, 
were planted for their shade in a row just outside 
or just inside the front fence. There on the turf 
that grew fine and velvety beneath their rustling 
leaves the inevitable rocking-chair was placed, 
and the women of the family rocked and read and 
sewed whenever their manifold duties would per- 
mit. These trees were the only formal notes of 
horticulture to be seen in the otherwise natural 
landscape; and their formality grew into stateli- 
ness year after year, generation after generation, 
until to-day they stand glorious monuments to the 
long dead hands that nursed them through their 
uncertain infancy, and placed them as pleasant 
punctuation points on the dusty highway. 

Perhaps it was thus that the parlour fell into 
disrepute, for in Winter it was too cold to be in- 
habited; the door was kept tightly closed and 
locked. It was left to the dust and damp that in 
our minds are always associated with it, never dis- 
turbed except on those three momentous occasions 



GARDENS OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH 11 

that even in the most carefully regulated New 
England family are comparatively few and far 
between, the occasions of births, marriages, and 
deaths. A record of these was faithfully kept 
in the massive Bible that reposed upon the table 
which stood in the exact centre of this sombre 
room of rooms. 

Before the Revolutionary War there were few 
elaborate formal gardens in America. Undoubt- 
edly the best example of one existing to-day Avith 
its original shapes and edgings and many of its 
minor details is that at Mt. Vernon, the home of 
Washington, near Alexandria, Virginia. In the 
year 1764 it was probably the most elaborate 
pleasure garden in the Old Dominion, for prior to 
that period the planters had not been given to 
spending either much time or money upon useless 
luxuries. After the war, however, and in the 
early part of the nineteenth century all the large 
estates in the South were provided with pleasure 
grounds, which varied in size and elaborateness 
according to the inclinations and pocket-books of 
their proprietors, and the natural features of the 
land. All, however, were upon a more ambitious 



12 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

scale and aspired to more grandeur and dignity 
than the gardens of New England. In the South 
vegetation thrived luxuriantly and new and ex- 
quisite forms of plant life were frequently dis- 
covered to delight the heart of the horticulturist, 
forms that would not thrive in the bitter cold of 
the Northland. Slave labour was plentiful and 
cheap and was at the command of the planters to 
carry out extravagant feats of gardening; thou- 
sands of hands could be spared for the super- 
cultivation of the myriads of flowers and shrubs, 
without which an impressive formal garden is 
impossible. 

There, too, the tradition of entail was followed 
by many of the prominent families, so that an 
estate remained with a name for an indefinite 
period, generally passing to the eldest son as in 
England. This was merely a substantial expres- 
sion of the Englishman's deep-rooted respect, one 
might say superstition, for custom which became 
a considerable factor in many Southern gardens. 
They were made not only for the enjoyment of 
the generation then in existence, but planned and 
planted a hundred years into the future. 



GARDENS OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH 15 

The ability to construct and plant for to-morrow 
as well as to-day is one of the most important at- 
tributes for a gardener to possess. Sentiment and 
respect for the perfection that time alone can 
give is absolutely necessary to the art of garden- 
designing; and refinement of touch and instinct 
for colouring are as important to the gardener as 
to the painter. 

Effects of wood and stone and brick, the shapes 
and colours of hedges and screens, of boskets and 
groves, of trees and parterres of flowers in the 
beauty of maturity cannot be set forth on paper, 
but should appear correctly and vividly to the 
mind's eye of the designer, just as if they existed 
and lay spread out shimmering before him. Proj- 
ects of designing and planting should be approached 
with the question, ''How will they appear next 
Winter? ten years hence, when the tones have been 
softened and the shapes rounded out by time?" 
which the gardener should be able to answer off- 
hand. 

Many people plant in the Springtime with only 
the following Summer in view, as they drill vege- 
table seeds into the kitchen garden. Or they ap- 



16 COMMON SENSK GARDENS 

peai to nurserymen to accomplish in a few weeks 
effects that Nature would consume a dozen years 
in producing gradually. It is painful to have to 
acknowledge nowadays that the old sentiments of 
garden-making are utterly disregarded and looked 
down upon with curiosity and contempt by the 
ruling disciples of Pluto, whose delight it is to 
complete things in a single night by the waving 
of a golden wand ; miserable moderns who live and 
die in a hurry. 

In the South in the early part of the nineteenth 
century garden-making became a fad, a great 
craze in which every man vied with his neighbour 
to produce the largest and handsomest effects. 
Architects were brought over from France to 
make plans and superintend the construction. 
Some of the schemes were so ambitious that they 
toppled over before they left the drawing-board. 
At Charleston, South Carolina, one can still trace 
the paths and avenues, the general outline and 
scheme of planting of a garden that was planned 
to rival the garden at Versailles, that magnificent 
folly of Louis XIV. Many gardens were laid out 
or partly planted, but as the fad faded or the 



GARDENS OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH 19 

impracticability of the undertaking was realized 
they were left to the passionate embraces 
of the jungle, which quickly swallowed them 
up. 

The men and women who conceived these many 
beautiful closes, arranged their walks and furnish- 
ings and planted their hedges and borders, craved 
the best examples of Chippendale, Sheraton and 
Hepplewhite, and imported them from England 
to adorn the interiors of their homes. Both within 
and without those stately mansions the inherent 
breath of refinement softly throbbed. 

Many of those old gardens are in existence to- 
day very much as they were originally laid out, 
especially several notable gardens in Camden, 
South Carolina, and vicinity, that were made about 
the years 1830-35, some even as late as 1850; 
others exhibit but shreds and patches of their 
pristine glory and are kept up only in part owing 
to the circumstances of their proprietors, or to 
the indifference with which they are regarded by 
the families into whose possession they have come 
through the fortunes of war. 



CHAPTER II 

A COMMON SENSE GARDEN 




HE most ap- 
propriate garden 
for a small house, 
or for a moderately 
large house on small 
grounds, no matter in 
what style of architec- 
ture it may be built, is one that can 
best be described as a cross between 
the formal garden of the South and 
the old New England yard, as it con- 
tains features of both judiciously 
blended. The formality consists of 
the hedge or fence enclosing it, the 
quite formal approach and the gen- 
eral plan of the paths; and to this 
is added in the way of planting 
the half-wild, unkempt freedom of 
the New England cottage-garden; 

21 



22 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

and in a garden of this size the planting of the 
flowers, the filhng in with colours is a very impor- 
tant part. Such a plan carefully carried out, 
even in the smallest details that seem unim- 
portant to the casual eye, and under the supervi- 
sion of the owner, will produce results that will 
more nearly approach in general sentiment the 
English garden of to-day, yesterday, a hundred 
years since. 

In a short time such a garden will become a 
thing of beauty and will prove a joy forever to the 
worker therein, for it is to the intimate friend of 
the flowers that the joys of gardening are revealed, 
to whom the confidences of the Lily and the Rose 
are made. Its loveliness will increase from season 
to season as Time mellows it with his unapproach- 
able touch, adding colour and fulness to it here 
and there, a touch which the hand of man cannot 
counterfeit. Flowers are so much more beautiful 
when growing amid congenial surroundings, so 
artificial and snobbish when cut and put in vases, 
or potted and placed in the corners of rooms or 
on tables for decoration. Tennyson would never 
pluck a flower and could not bear to see one 




Looking down into the Garden. 



A COMMON SENSE GARDEN 25 

plucked; such desecration produced a painful im- 
pression on his mind and upset him for days after- 
wards. He sought flowers in their own retreats, 
and perhaps better than any one who has written 
did he understand their language. 

Such a garden as I have endeavoured to describe 
looks neither new nor garish from the very be- 
ginning, neither does it ever appear ridiculous or 
top-heavy with cheap dignity that it never really 
possessed except on paper, or in someone's imagi- 
nation. It will be neither a French garden nor a 
German, nor Dutch nor Italian nor even English, 
although it will show many influences of the latter. 
It will possess the best characteristics of Ameri- 
can gardens, and if you will only keep the gar- 
dener out of it it will remain a garden for ever and 
a day. 

Why do not people give more thought to their 
gardens? They build houses and go extensively 
into architecture, especially into that particular 
style, or combination of styles, in which their own 
house is designed, yet they seem to think that a 
garden is just merely a garden, a miscellaneous 
collection of flowers and colours meant principally 



26 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

to pick and to wear, or to put in vases. A woman 
gives a great deal of thought to the decoration 
and furnishing of the rooms of lier house, why 
not to the garden, which is also a room, although 
she can never be made to believe it? It should 
have, and generally does have, more importance 
in connection with the general effect of the house 
both outside and inside — for the impression one 
receives of the exterior is carried within and af- 
fects the imagination to a great extent — than any 
other room. 

The garden is generally left until the house is 
nearly if not quite completed; or perhaps planned 
in a vague way. By that time the owner's pa- 
tience is exhausted and his finances at a lower ebb 
than is compatible with good temper and peace of 
mind. The garden and the planting of it are left 
to the gardener, who on small estates is necessarily 
many other things besides, and although he may 
be very successful with Cauliflowers and Mangels 
he has little education or taste, and is no more 
capable of making the garden than furnishing the 
hah. 

A woman will be dissolved in tears and indigna- 




A New Garden; Spring. 



A COMMON SENSE GARDEN 29 

tion if the architect neglects to confer with, her 
about the trim of the library or the colour of the 
border of the bathroom tiling, yet she will order 
her gardener offhand to plant the garden with 
Lilies and Roses and whatnots, and expect the 
result to be satisfactory without giving it further 
thought. The setting of the garden and the gar- 
den itself are as necessary to the house as a front 
porch, and a great deal more necessary than a 
porte-cochere. A garden is meant to be lived in; 
it can be made to reflect the character of the 
owner as much as a living room or boudoir. The 
refinement that Washington exhibited in laying 
out the numerous paths and parterres of Mt, 
Vernon and in planting the hedges and edgings, 
the love and care that he zealously bestowed upon 
his flowers and shrubs and the setting out of his 
trees, would seem to be the best inspiration that 
an amateur of to-day, who is anxious to make a 
garden, and to preserve the best traditions of 
American gardening, could seek or desire. 

The garden of AVashington, however, is set in 
a frame that cannot be reproduced, no matter 
how many fortunes the designer may have at his 



30 COMMOX SENSE GARDENS 

command, — ^the house, the forecourt with its 
quaint gateway the numerous outbuildings un- 
usual and picturesque in themselves, the connect- 
ing peristyles that match perfectly with pathetic 
simplicity the architecture of the main building, 
the location on a thickly wooded bank overhang- 
ing the noble river whose every wavelet lisps of 
the history of the neighbouring shores, the stately 
trees that have reached perfection of character 
and symmetry of form through the rounding out 
of many years, the shrubs that have become pa- 
triarchs of their families, and above all the serenity 
and repose that are natural to the wild-wood and 
foreign to thickly populated districts. 

This park and the neighbouring park of Arling- 
ton, which is larger than that of Mt. ^''ernon and 
was planted on a much more liberal scale, are 
examples that every student of gardening should 
study unceasingly. At Arlington the planting of 
evergreen trees especially was most successfully 
accomplished and one may there learn the best 
uses to which such trees can be put. Nothing 
could be more beautiful than the grouping and 
the disposal of the groups. It is as if they had 




Flowering Almond in the Garden. 



A COMMON SENSE GARDEN 33 

been literally painted in the wooded slopes and 
dells, so softly do their graceful forms and chang- 
ing colours blend with the various shapes and 
shades of the deciduous trees among which they 
are set. 

At Mt. Vernon the paths are enclosed with Box 
hedges and the parterres are edged with the same 
bitter-sweet shrub. After a century and more of 
growth and care these hedges and edgings have 
reached a perfection that is the envy and despair 
of every would-be gardener who views them for 
the first time. 

The dominant note of the whole enclosure is 
Box. Its pungent odour, so disagreeable to some 
people, to others sweeter than all the perfumes 
of Araby, hangs ever on the air, permeates the 
farthermost nooks and corners with its memory- 
awakening spell. These hedges have an exas- 
perating smoothness and softness of colouring that 
have been gradually absorbed from the suns and 
snows of many seasons which it would be useless 
to hope to reproduce in a few years. 

As at Mt. Vernon, so the yards and gardens of 
New England were dominated by this matchless 



34 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

evergreen, as the gardens of England are domi- 
nated by the Yew. Planted under the front win- 
dows or along the most used paths it gave a wel- 
come warmth of colour to the bleak landscape of 
a northern Winter, and in time crept into the 
honoured place of friend, unchanging, well-loved 
by every member of the family. Box is a fa- 
miliar sight in the neighbourhood of New York 
where it was extensively used by the Dutch; and 
in Philadelphia by the English. It has been so 
prominent in gardens the world over that it should 
be cherished by garden-makers wherever it will 
grow, and no one should be deterred from planting 
it by the thought that it is slow of growth and un- 
certain, for it is uncertain in some climates and 
exposed positions. In every garden an altar of 
Box should be erected where the votaries of Flora 
may worship and lay their offerings of Rosemary 
and Bay. 

Clipped and ornamental Box is as old as the 
Roman hills. During the first century it was 
used to enclose gardens, to edge walks and to 
cover alleys, for in the East and in the south of 
Europe it grew to the height of thirty feet. Pliny, 



A COMMON SENSE GARDEN 37 

writing to Apollinaris about his Tusculan villa, 
describes the terrace as bounded by a Box hedge, 
from whence there was an easy slope adorned with 
Box trees cut to represent various animals; and 
beyond, a circus ornamented in the middle with a 
Box tree, the whole framed in by a walk covered 
with Box rising by different stages to the top. 
The circus survives in our gardens to-day in the 
roimd bed placed at the intersection of two paths. 
Out of respect to Pliny let us ornament it in the 
middle with a Box tree! 

Could the abundance of Box during the early 
centuries account for the tricks its odour plays 
the memory now? It is said often to recall long- 
forgotten incidents of childhood vividly to mind 
in middle age; and wonderful tales have been re- 
lated of the power of its perfume suddenly breathed 
to present to the mind of an individual of one 
generation events that had happened in the pre- 
ceding one, and of which he had never heard. 
There is no doubt but that the associations of Box 
are mysterious and romantic and of a pleasing 
nature to those who are fond of flowers. 

In Pliny's time the chief gardener, who was in 



38 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

reality a sculptor of trees, was known as the 
''topiarius," and under his supervision the scena 
of those elaborate retreats were planned, and 
eventually shaped by his skilful shears. The 
clipped screens and hedges were used as back- 
grounds for the sculptured shrubs which were the 
main features in those gardens where the culti- 
vated flowers were few. 



CHAPTER III 

THE GARDEN ENCLOSURE 



'^^T^"^HE early English 

, I gardens were en- 

^ I closed by high walls 

^ JLm of brick or stone and 

often surrounded by a moat. 

If such materials were not 

available Osier fences were 

used instead or pickets painted green. 

Privet, Box and Yew were used for 

hedges, allowed to grow from eight to ten 

feet high, and kept carefully cHpped and 

trimmed. American gardens have rarely 

been enclosed by high walls, except in 

cities and towns where it was necessary 

to screen some objectionable object, or 

where proximity to the traffic of the street 

interfered with the privacy that a garden 

should primarily possess. The idea of 

high-walled seclusion is foreign to this 

39 




40 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

country and opposed to the spirit of freedom one 
is supposed to breathe under its radiant sun and 
soft blue sky. 

The flower garden, however, should be defi- 
nitely bounded and at least partly enclosed if not 
actually walled or hedged in. The word garden 
is derived from the old English garth, which means 
enclosure. Natural boundaries such as old walls, 
banks, terraces, ponds or brooks should be re- 
tained and worked into the plan, as they are 
desirable features. Supplement these by hedges, 
walls of stone or brick, fences, groups of trees or 
shrubs and screens to complete the form of en- 
closure. Plant the trees and shrubs in a semi- 
formal manner, but do not use any exaggerated 
formal effects on small grounds as they destroy 
the harmony that should exist between house and 
garden. Landscape gardeners endeavour to pro- 
duce imposing vistas and counterfeit perspective 
in a small area, which is too suggestive of the 
theatre to be acceptable to anyone who cares in 
the least for Nature. There should not be anything 
unnatural or over-conventional about the com- 
mon sense garden. For that reason geometrical 



THE GARDEN ENCLOSURE 43 

parterres, intricate and bewildering to the eye, 
should be avoided, as they present a miniature, 
toylike appearance that belittles the house. The 
planting of such parterres is characterless, too, and 
is only for colour in carpet effects which should 
be very large to be at all imposing as decorations. 
An exception to such parterres might be made 
when the miniature garden is between the house 
and a broad river or other large body of water 
beyond which the opposite shore is visible, where 
an extensive panorama lies spread out. The eye 
then engages an unlimited prospect and is so in- 
fluenced by the broadness of the surroundings 
that it does not notice the insignificant appear- 
ance of the garden that otherwise would seem 
small and mean. Such a garden then becomes an 
incident not a feature. Even then the beds should 
not be made too small and complicated, or they 
will be hard to plant effectively. 

If the house is situated in an empty lot or field, 
that is to say one that is quite bare of trees or 
shrubs, make the garden enclosure of the mate- 
rial that you think would conform best to the 
design and colour of the house and which at the 



44 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

same time is convenient to use. With half-tim- 
bered work brick composes well ; with stucco, stone 
or brick ; with an old frame house or one of colonial 
design, white pickets or white pickets on a low 
brick Wall, a combination much used in the South 
and a very pleasing one ; or with any of the above- 
mentioned designs a hedge of Privet, Hemlock or 
Box, or a hedge combined with a fence or wall. 
A little thought, with perhaps the aid of a tem- 
porary section of enclosure, will enable you to 
determine the most appropriate materials or com- 
binations if you are unable to focus well your 
mind's eye, and any consideration of this most 
important subject will be well repaid. 

For such a garden a setting will have to be made 
by planting good trees, trees that will be beautiful 
and interesting in Winter when divested of their 
foliage as well as in Summer when in their full- 
fledged glory. These should be set out both in 
relation to the house and garden, and the neces- 
sary shading and filling in given with evergreens 
and shrubs, not set in stiff, unsightly clumps like 
old-fashioned bouquets, but used intelligently both 
as to form and colour; single specimens or two or 




IB 



THE GARDEN ENCLOSURE 47 

three together in modulated groups. Do not try 
to out-nature Nature, however, by building up a 
diversified landscape on your two or three acre 
demesne, after the manner of the late lamented 
school of landscape gardeners, for artificial moun- 
tains, valleys, cliffs, cascades and gorges only look 
well in menageries when inhabited by wild beasts; 
such efforts fail utterly to either beautify or im- 
prove. On a small estate the more harmony that 
exists between the house and garden, the more 
one fits imperceptibly into the other, the more 
one seems absolutely necessary to the other, just 
so much more success you may be sure you have 
achieved. Harmony is the keynote that should 
forever be ringing in your ears. 

Sunken gardens, deliberately sunken ones, that 
is to say deep pits dug in level ground and not 
depending upon any natural features of the land 
for their sunken condition or appearance are quite 
meaningless, except perhaps in a large park or 
system of gardens where they might find a place 
as examples of a type. They are conspicuous on 
account of their freakishness, which is a charac- 
teristic that should be avoided in small gardens. 



48 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

There is no more reason for digging a pit in the 
ground in which to plant flowers than there is for 
building a platform several feet high on which to 
lay out a garden. Simplicity is above all things 
important on a small place, simplicity both in 
planning and planting; few furnishings but good 
ones; not many plants but the very best varieties 
and colours of those you use. Give play to the 
same instincts and tastes that you would employ 
in furnishing and decorating an important room 
of your house. 

The habit of tacking on Italian gardens to 
houses of nondescript style, or to those of Colonial, 
Gothic or English-cottage design is one that is 
apt to put the neighbourhood for a considerable 
radius out of tune. The idea is not artistic. One 
comes upon colonies of houses, often handsome, 
elaborate houses built on an acre or two of land, 
which are overburdened with gardens supposed to 
be Italian in style, — gardens that are cluttered 
up with all sorts of continental refuse placed gen- 
erally without meaning; antique garden furnish- 
ings and bad reproductions purchased abroad for 
large sums to give ''colour" and "atmosphere" 







'j'^f-....^-^-'" 




p^ 



THE GARDEN ENCLOSURE 51 

to these bedizened back yards, and which only 
serve to call attention to the bad taste of the 
owners. In this class of garden which is becom- 
ing more common every year because it is the 
"fashion," a pergola is conspicuous, in fact it 
is a sort of hall-mark without which none is con- 
sidered genuine. 

Italian pergolas are good things to avoid in 
common sense gardens. Do not connect the gar- 
den and the house by one, nor let one lean famil- 
iarly up against the wall of the mansion. A per- 
gola should not be built in the flower garden at 
all unless it is in the shape of a small, simple 
arbour, and then only if you intend to smother it 
quickly with Honeysuckles or Roses. Such Rose 
pergolas are common in English gardens where 
climbing Roses flourish exceedingly, but they are 
always placed where they have some meaning ; as a 
dividing line between the flower garden and the 
kitchen garden ; or at the end of a path ; or as an 
approach to a terrace or a plantation. 

There is a pergola at Arlington, near Washing- 
ton, which matches in its proportions the house, 
a massive structure of classic design. This per- 



52 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

gola is a most elaborate affair and is very beauti- 
ful. It would not look as well anywhere else, 
and time has added greatly to its beauty. The 
vines, for the most part Wistaria and Grape, have 
developed into enormous fantastic growths that 
have completely entwined the pillars and beams 
of this great structure. If it was an adjunct to 
any house except this bepillared classic hall it 
would look out of place and ineffective. Perhaps 
it is more appropriate to-day in the grounds of a 
National Cemetery than anywhere else that it 
could be put. 

In Central Park, New York, there are several 
rustic pergolas on which Wistaria has been trained, 
and their effect in Springtime is enchanting. 
There used to be one at least a hundred and fifty 
feet long that spanned the bridle-path where it 
runs beside the West drive not far below Mc- 
Gowan's Pass. After a few days of blooming 
the ground beneath the vines would become com- 
pletely covered with the purple petals that every 
zephyr sent fluttering downwards in a twinkling 
shower. The combination of the delicate colour- 
ing of the many graceful clusters, and the fresh 



THE GARDEN ENCLOSURE 55 

green of the surrounding trees was enchanting for 
the few days it lasted. The writer of these hues 
has never forgotten the fairyhke impression that 
this pergola made upon his mind when as a very 
small boy he used to canter through it on his pony 
of an early May morning. These rustic pergolas 
were in a public park and were built when rustic 
work was much in vogue; there is no excuse for 
using them anywhere now. 

Small Italian gardens are not effective and should 
never be used unless the house is in the Italian 
style. Most of the Italian gardens one sees are 
shams, pretendmg to be something that they are 
not and never will be. The old gardens cannot 
be reproduced in miniature; the modern ones are 
enormously expensive and cover many acres of 
ground. Beautiful effects that are natural in Italy 
are badly imitated in the neighbourhood of New 
York, so that the result reminds one of a scene 
in a comic opera. Italian gardens need space, 
long avenues of trees, vistas of mountains, topiary 
work that cannot be reproduced here; their fur- 
nishings are marble fountains elaborately carved, 
vases, beautiful statues, colonnades and flights of 



56 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

steps; and above all is the colouring of landscape 
and sky and foliage, a semi-tropical note that can- 
not be imported and set up like a sun-dial or box 
of flowers. 

In America one associates such theatrical pleas- 
ure grounds with the over-rich, or with men of new 
wealth who seize upon every opportunity to call 
attention to their riches. In Italy the man of 
modest means does not have a flower garden; he 
is quite satisfied with Nature's garden that lies 
spread out ever before his appreciative gaze in a 
mist of dazzling colours, exhaling the softest per- 
fumes. In England, where garden-making and 
garden-planting have been an art for centuries, the 
Italian garden is let severely alone. True garden- 
lovers are never satisfied with make-believe 
gardens. 



CHAPTER IV 

LAYING OUT THE GARDEN 

HE garden may be 
in the front or the 
back of the house or 
at the side of it ; or if 
none of these situations is 
available it maj^ be laid 
out some distance away, 
but should be connected with the house 
by a direct path enclosed Avith a fence 
or hedge, preferably a hedge. For, as a 
garden is a part of the house, it should 
be easily accessible from it at all times, 
and should be visible from some of the 
principal rooms. Then it may be en- 
joyed on a rainy day or in Winter, or in 
the early Springtime when frost is still 
in the air but the tender green shoots of 
the Iris are gently pushing through the 
ground, and Snowdrop and Crocus are 




58 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

sprinkling the brown earth with their welcome 
bloom. It is a good plan to have the garden con- 
nected with the front or back porch, or with the 
piazza, or even better to have the floor of the 
piazza flush with the garden path, or with a grass 
terrace from whence a few steps will lead you into 
the garden. A good formula for the size of the 
garden is ''half as wide as it is long." 

Sunlight is absolutely necessary for the health 
of the majority of flowers, so that a sunny posi- 
tion should be chosen for the garden if luxuriance 
and brilliance of bloom are to be looked for. 
There is nothing quite so disheartening as trying 
to coax flowers to bloom in semi-shade. It is 
well if the garden is so situated that for a short 
time at least in the morning every nook and cor- 
ner will be penetrated by the clear, health-giving 
sunlight, for such a mild tonic is not injurious to 
even shade-loving plants, and its benefits cannot 
be overestimated. Sunlight seems to be essential 
to the most cheerful forms of both plant and ani- 
mal life, and can be replaced by nothing else. 

If space permits, and there is a shady corner, it 
is a good thing to have a garden house or a bench 




privet Hedge around Garden; Pin Oaks in Background. 



LAYING OUT THE GARDEN 61 

built where one may read and sew and entertain 
one's friends at tea, for tea is always more at- 
tractive in company with the flowers. For some 
plants shade is necessary, as Lily-of-the-valley 
which thrives under the trees and soon carpets 
the ground with its silvery green leaves. It is a 
great temptation to the lover of flowers to repro- 
duce the bloom of every plant that attracts at- 
tention in neighbouring gardens, a temptation that 
often leads to dire confusion of colours and forms 
and produces bizarre effects that it would be bet- 
ter to exclude from a small garden. The atmos- 
phere of the common sense garden should be soft, 
subdued, suggestive of peace to both the mind 
and the eye. 

The beginner would do well to start with com- 
paratively few plants, and when he has thor- 
oughly mastered the cultivation of these, when 
he knows their whims and idiosyncrasies and can 
anticipate their wants and supply their needs, he 
may take up others, add to his repertoire as it 
were. He will surely find out that there are some 
flowers which grow in the gardens of his neigh- 
bours like weeds but with which he can not sue- 



62 COMMON SENSE GAKDENS 

ceed. This rule, however, works both ways, and 
he will succeed with some that recfuire much care 
and attention when his neighbours fail. It is 
better to give up the obstinate ones for a time at 
least, although the idea of defeat may be unwel- 
come; there are enough flowers to go 'round. 

Turn a deaf ear to the nurseryman and even to 
your dearest friend if he would dissuade you from 
edging the paths of your garden with Box, for in 
your heart of hearts you know that there is noth- 
ing better for the purpose than the little plant 
that has stood the test for so many hundred years. 
Besides, there is nothing else that will do. There 
is certainly nothing more typical, nothing more 
eloquently redolent of the old garden. When the 
enclosure is made and the paths laid out and edged 
with Box, the garden is finished, except for the 
planting of the flowers ; but if it were never edged 
with Box it would never be finished, no matter 
how many flowers were planted nor how brilliantly 
they bloomed. And i' the flowers never were 
planted you would enjoy it as it was, as you will 
see it many months of the year. 

Box edging is easy to transplant and grows 



LAYING OUT THE GARDEN 65 

quite rapidly. Although for the first year or so 
after setting out it may be slightly Winter-scarred 
in this locahty (New York) it will recuperate 
quickly and be made more stocky by the experi- 
ence. By the middle of May one may be sure to 
see it vividly green — and is there any green more 




Old Box Hedge 

refreshing than the new green of Box ? — and if 
only three or four inches high it will mark out at- 
tractively the patterns of the paths and beds. 
The plants used for this purpose are raised in 
Holland and Belgium and are a dwarf variety of 
Bnxiis sempervircns . It is better if possible to 
use stock that has been at least one W.nter in 
this country, but if you cannot find this, set out 
the edging in the Spring as soon as it arrives from 



66 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

the other side, and plant it in good black loam, 
watching it carefully to see that it does not dry 
out. Edging may be propagated very handily from 
an old hedge that has been neglected and allowed 
to go to pieces, being useful for nothing else and 
only an eyesore. Such a hedge can generally be 
had for the asking, and of course the plants raised 
from it would be perfectly hardy and very cheap. 
Box is a very greedy feeder and should be ferti- 
lized continually if health and vigour are expected 
to be shown. A top dressing at least every Fall 
is necessary, and a mulch of well-rotted manure 
in the Spring is an excellent thing. Many edgings 
become starved out, turn yellow and die because 
they have not sufficient nourishment. That is 
why so many edgings in old gardens look so patchy, 
so scarred. The soil is unable to nourish the plants, 
being used up and not having received any en- 
richment for many years. If you will water your 
Box plants with manure water of the colour of 
strong tea every ten days or two weeks during 
Summer you will find that they will be much 
strengthened against the rigours of Winter, in fact 
that they will not be Winter-killed as many people 



LAYING OUT THE GARDEN 



67 



complain. Do not trim the edging at all the first 
season after setting out, but the following Spring 
before it begins to grow give it a good clipping. 
It makes a second growth later in the season. 

The beauty of a new garden and its surround- 
ings may be much enhanced and the illusion of 




Old Box 

age heightened by planting old Box and Lilacs, 
two shrubs that were much in evidence in the 
New England yards, and that were great favour- 
ites in the more formal gardens of the South. If 
these are used, however, care should be taken to 
place them where they obviously belong, where 



68 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

one finds them in old gardens and yards, and not 
to scatter them indiscriminately about the grounds. 
Box was planted at the foot of the front porch 
steps, although this position, especially in New 
I*]ngland where formality was not much followed, 
was often preempted by the Lilacs. At the cor- 
ners of the beds in the garden and in the round 
bed at the intersection of two paths it seems 
very nuich at home. Hedges of Box were planted 
along the front yard paths and on the tops of re- 
taining walls in the immediate vicinity of the 
house, along walks leading to the kitchen garden 
and as screens around back and side ])orches. 

Lilacs were used to a great extent as screens, 
too, and })lante(l behind walls along the roads and 
lanes where they were allowed to grow into high, 
untrinmied hedges. A few stately specimens were 
to be found shading the well kerb; and there were 
clumps before the front windows of the dwellings 
wluM'e th(^ fragrant clustei's often swung in at the 
second story casements. Varieties of the com- 
mon Lilac (Syringa vulgaris are the ones usualh'' 
seen and they are the best Lilacs to use to-day for 
a good, substantial Lilac effect. Many of the new 




J.ilucs behind an Old Wall. 



LAYING OUT THE GARDEN 71 

French varieties produce beautiful flowers but they 
look less like Lilacs, the tendency being to improve 
a flower out of all likeness to its old form. Hy- 
bridizing has played havoc with sentiment and 
tradition. The new varieties are less sturdy and 
vigorous than the old ; and are of less use in a real 
garden. When purchasing Lilacs from the nursery 
be sure to get those grown on their own roots, for 
most of the new stock both here and in Europe 
is budded on Privet and is worthless, as it only 
lives a few years. This is done to gain time and 
save money, and is a good example of the modern 
way of doing things in a hurry. 

White Lilacs grow into large trees and are ex- 
tremely picturesque with their fascinating clusters 
of highly scented flowers. Although at an ad- 
vanced age these trees present a somewhat gaunt 
and scraggly appearance, they are perhaps more 
suggestive of antiquity than anything else that 
we can put in the yard, always excepting Box. 
Hardly a house was built in New England, or in 
Westchester County up to the middle of the nine- 
teenth century, or even later, that did not have 
a clump of Lilacs planted within sight of the win- 



72 COMAION SENSE GARDENS 

dows. When driving through the country one 
often comes upon isolated bushes or groups of 
Lilacs far from any habitation ; but a little explo- 
ration will always reveal the ruins of a house, the 
old well or the cellar, perhaps only a retaining 
wall with Lilacs growing cheerfully from its top 
or out of its joints. 

Large Lilac bushes are easily transplanted, for 
they are shallow rooted. When nurserymen wish 
to force them they dig up good specimens from 
the nursery and place them in some out-of-the- 
way corner of the greenhouse, throwing any old 
rubbish that is handy over their roots, sphagnum 
or a shovel or two of compost. I have seen them 
blooming luxuriantly standing practically uncov- 
ered on the floor of the potting shed. When their 
flowers are all gathered they are put back in the 
nursery, but do not bloom again for two years. 
When looking for old Lilacs care should be taken 
to select sound specimens, and even a certain 
amount of size may be well sacrificed to this end. 



CHAPTER V 

A FEW GOOD TREES 

F you have not enough 
confidence to lay out 
the grounds and gar- 
den yourself, consult 
a garden architect of good 
reputation, one whose work 
you have seen and know to 
approach more or less to your ideal ; but 
do not let him do more than offer a few 
suggestions at a time concerning the 
points about which you are most in 
doubt. Otherwise you will probably be- 
come inextricably confused and your gar- 
den will lose the individuality that should 
be absorbed directly from yourself, and 
lacking which it will become very much 
the same as ten thousand other gardens 
that have been turned out at so much the 

square foot or yard. The architect will 
73 




74 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

be useful in suggesting the shape of the garden 
and the best materials to use for the enclosure, and 
he may be better able than you to see the possi- 
bilities of the natural features of the land, because 
his eye is trained to such work and is ever on the 
alert. Do not follow his suggestions about plant- 
ing, however, but do that the first year at least 
yourself. 

In a garden of the kind under consideration too 
much conventionality should be avoided. The 
formality will blend with the semi-wild planting 
of the garden in such a manner that it will be 
absorbed. Your own ideas of colour and mate- 
rial will have full play, just as in the furnishing of 
any other room of your house where the formal 
background of walls, windows, trim, mantelpiece 
and so forth, only serve as a setting for your in- 
dividual taste in hangings, pictures, rugs and 
chairs, to say nothing of the minor ornaments. 
If the same room were left to a decorator to ''do" 
in the style of Louis XV or of Charles I the result 
would doubtless be very correct, but it would also 
be very conventional, and you would never feel 
much at home in it, unless you were in a con- 



A FEW GOOD TREES li 

ventional mood and arrayed like Solomon in at 
least part of his glory. Such a room would really 
be out of place in the ordinary house, in any house 
of modest proportions. 

Architects, garden and otherwise have a way of 
talking their cHents into doing or allowing them 
to do many things that the clients do not desire; 
it is part of their profession and the more lan- 
guages they can use the more successful they are. 
Unless your own taste is entirely lacking it is well 
to have it reflected to a certain extent in your 
home. You may spend much time in explaining 
your ideas to an architect, and he will listen at- 
tentively and say ''just so;" and ''I grasp your 
feeling exactly;" and then he will go off and carry 
out his own ideas for which you have to pay. In 
garden-making it is much better to be responsible 
for your own failures, to be able to take advantage 
of your own experiences. If you are not satisfied 
with the way the flowers look the first year, dig 
them up and start again. You will have twice 
as much fun and in the end the solidest sort of 
satisfaction. 

Before planting trees and shrubs you should 



78 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

study every available position at different times 
of the day — in the fresh morning sunlight, in the 
glare of midday, in the softer hghts of afternoon 
and at twihght, even in the light of the moon. 
Do not be in too much of a hurry to plant, even if 
trees and shrubs are conspicuous by their absence 
and your eyes are hungry for the cool, umbrageous 
green of rustling leaves; it is much better to make 
haste slowly. In the course of time you will come 
to know many places where you are sure that 
trees should be placed, and you will have decided 
upon the varieties that can be used to the best ad- 
vantage. Stake out these spots, and after study- 
ing the locations from different points of your 
grounds in relation to adjoining conspicuous ob- 
jects, such as the windmill of your neighbour or 
his stable or house, you will change the stakes 
many times, and stakes are much easier to trans- 
plant than trees. Note well the aspect of the sur- 
roundings in Winter, as well as in Spring when the 
leaves are beginning to burst from their buds and 
the quivering, pinkish green of the first awakening 
is in the air; and later on when Nature is more 
decorously clad in her high-neck Summer gown. 




White Oak and Spruce. 



A FEW GOOD TREES 81 

If one can afford to it is better to plant a few 
well-developed, shapely trees and shrubs than to 
bunch together a hundred or so insignificant 
nurselings that will take years to develop into any 
degree of perfection, and then will have to be 
moved. Of course it is more difficult and expen- 
sive to procure such material and to transplant 
it, but the trouble and expense are worth while, 
for your yard and garden will soon attain a dis- 
tinction that is denied to the majority of parvenu 
villas. 

The best trees to use for a groundwork of plant- 
ing are those that are indigenous to that part of 
the country in which your estate lies, the trees 
that are identified with your particular locality 
or county. If your grounds are bare of large 
trees there will probably be some on the adjoining 
properties, or along the road, that will benefit you 
by framing your place in. Plant up to these and 
you will find that native trees look more at home 
and thrive better than exotics. Your greatest en- 
deavour should be to make the house and grounds 
look as if they were meant to be lived in and en- 
joyed; that is the way even the smallest estates 



82 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

in England appear. Display should always be 
subservient to simplicity and common sense. 
Americans have learnt how to build livable houses; 
the art of building livable gardens will be appre- 
ciated in time, once the old, natural instincts are 
awakened. 

Do not cut down any trees with which your 
grounds may be blessed until you have to, and 
guard zealously those near the house or they will 
be ruined by the builder. In fact it is safer to 
make some sort of contract with him concerning 
the trees, for otherwise he will not be interested 
in their welfare, and if a limb should so much as 
graze the face of one of his carpenters the fellow 
will be sure to chop it down, and you may go hang. 
The best way to do is to box them strongly as high 
up as the branches will allow Great care should 
be taken with the Cedars, for their picturesque 
beauty or the formality of their outlines can be 
utterly ruined by the loss of one or two branches; 
and Cedar trees cannot be replaced in a hundred 
years. 

The most valuable trees are those that are 
beautiful in Winter as well as in Summer; those 



A FEW GOOD TREES »d 

that show their character in their massive limbs 
and unrestrained habits of growth, that stand out 
against the melancholy skyline of November as 
pleasingly in their grey and brown habiliments as 
in Midsummer when swathed in the softest greens, 
those trees in fact that have particular features 
to recommend them and that are not in the least 
like shrubs. 

In these days people spend much of their time 
in the country, and it is becoming customary for 
those owning houses out of the city to live in 
them until the New Year, and return to them 
early in the Spring. Trees are in full leaf for a com- 
paratively few months so that a good deal of dis- 
crimination should be exercised in planting, more 
than was necessary a few years ago when the 
country house was only occupied from June until 
October. Looking at this proposition from a 
more practical side it will be seen that although 
many people build with the expectation of occupy- 
ing their houses only a few months in the year, 
they will be very glad to let for the Winter. 
Grounds that are picturesque and cheerful, and 
livable in Winter naturally attract the house- 



84 



COMMON SENSE GARDENS 



hunter and hold him better than those that are 
obviously made only for Summer effect, that look 
as if they should be packed up and stored until 
Spring along with the piazza chairs. 




White Oak in Winter 



The most desirable trees of all are the Oaks, the 
White, Red and Pin Oaks. They grow in time 
into enormous specimens and live for an indefinite 
period. When one plants an Oak tree one not 



A FEW GOOD TREES 85 

only benefits his own grounds incalculably, but 
he also does a service for his neighbours and the 
adjoining countryside that is the best kind of 
charity. The most picturesque of the Oaks are the 
Red and White, which many people never dream 
of planting on account of their traditionally slow 
growth; but they forget that these trees begin 
to show their characteristics at a comparatively 
early age, and they also forget that the trees 
that are of slowest growth are of the greatest 
merit. The truth is that the Oaks are not any 
slower of growth than many trees that are more 
extensively planted. The Pin Oak, which is really 
a rapid grower, is particularly beautiful planted 
along an avenue or a road in double rows, and is 
interesting at every stage of its development. As 
a background for the garden it is unrivalled, for 
the foliage is dense and of an exquisite glossy 
green colour and shimmers in the sunlight and 
vibrates bewitchingly in every breeze that blows. 
It is a good tree to have in the garden, for its ap- 
pearance is ideally semi-formal. The Pin Oak 
carries its limbs close to the ground and the lower 
branches curve downward, giving it a luxuriant 



86 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

effect that one does not find in any other tree 
possessmg so much character. The low-growing 
branches will be retained for many years if they 
are given plenty of light and air. Oak trees should 
be planted sixty feet apart, but in planting an 
avenue the intervals may be filled in by some 
quicker growing trees that in the course of years 
may be transplanted to make room for their more 
sturdy neighbours. 

The leaves of the White Oak turn scarlet in Au- 
tumn and often cling to the branches until Spring, 
giving the tree a rather unique place in the land- 
scape. The Oaks are free from disease and insect 
pests, which is a great recommendation for trees 
that are to be planted on small grounds where a 
good presence must be counted upon throughout 
the season. The Pin Oak is one of the easiest trees 
to transplant, and it is quite feasible to move 
specimens twenty-five to thirty-five feet in height 
from the forest to the lawn, the percentage of loss 
being small. Select well-branched specimens of 
good shape and move in December after the ground 
has become well frozen. When the tree is set, 
cover the ground about the trunk for a radius of 



A FEW GOOD TREES 87 

six feet or so with six inches of coarse htter, and 
leave it until late in the Spring. When this is re- 
moved mulch with fine, well-rotted manure, which 
may with advantage be renewed from time to time 
during the Summer. It will not be necessary to 
cut back the tops, but the dead wood should be 
well cleaned out and the ends of the longer lower 
branches pruned for eighteen inches or so. Too 
much cannot be said in favour of the Oak trees 
which possess so many sterling qualities; beauty, 
dignity, distinguished appearance, fine colouring, 
extreme picturesqueness. They are satisfactory 
to look upon every season of the year. 

The Elm is the most graceful of all our native 
trees. Who is not familiar with the wineglass 
Elms of New England that so lightly o'erarch the 
village streets and greens? It is quite a rapid 
grower and reaches a graceful form at an early 
age. It is one of the most desirable trees for a 
small place, but it is so susceptible to the ravages 
of the moths that one plants it with many mis- 
givings. One is loth to give up this tree which is 
so identified with the history and literature of the 
country, which is so typical of the New England 



88 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

yard, but its unsightliness in early Summer and 
the disheartening war one is compelled to wage 
unceasingly against its enemies have weighed in 
the balance against its use in present-day plant- 
ing. If a few Elms are set out it would be well to 
plant Pin Oaks within a short distance of them, 
which may be retained if the Elms succumb. 

The Maples are popular trees; association, their 
cheerful habit of growth, their prim, spinster-like 
attitude and demeanour, their luxuriant fohage 
have all contributed to their popularity. The 
most picturesque of them all is the Swamp, or 
Red Maple, which, however, does well when trans- 
planted to uplands and is very easy to move. If 
the Swamp Maple is cut back at the right time it 
can be trained into a most effective tree. It can 
be used mth the Pin Oak, and as the latter keeps 
the colour of its leaves longer, the Swamp Maple's 
vivid red against the Pin Oak's green or yellowish 
brown makes a sensational burst of colour in the 
Autumn foliage. It is the first tree to turn, and 
you no doubt have seen it splashing the swamps 
with spots of dazzling scarlet in mid-September. 

Sugar Maples are rather formal, shrub-hke trees 




White Oaks in Winter holding their Leaves. 



A FEW GOOD TREES 



91 



of heavy, even foliage that were used in New 
England to line avenues in conjunction with Elms, 
and were also planted extensively in rows in front 
of farmhouses and other dwellings for their green- 
ery and shade — and sap. Many New England 




Aveiiiix <■: JLqiles 



village streets are completely congested with these 
trees, as the custom of planting them in front of 
the houses became so general that light and air 
have been shut out, an effect which is rather de- 
pressing, but to which the attention of the New 
Englander cannot be called without giving offence. 



92 



COMMON sp:nse gardens 



In many towns these trees have grown so large 
and have been guarded so carefully that the once 
attractive front-yard gardens have been completely 




Pill Oak in Winter 

smothered out. Would it not be better to sacri- 
fice a few of the trees, even though tradition and 
superstition are slightly jarred? Sugar Maples 
were considered very ornamental by the land- 



A FEW GOOD TREES 93 

scape gardeners of thirty years or so ago, and were 
much used by them for decorating lawns. 

The Norway Maple is a tree of much the same 
character but of more massive appearance. It, 
too, has the lines of a large shrub in Winter, from 
the upright growth of its limbs. The cut-leavecl 
Maple is a tree of very rapid growth, so rapid in 
fact that it is useless and is never planted except 
where a quick effect is imperative. The wood is 
so brittle and fragile that it is always being blown 
to pieces. The fancy Maples, such as the Silver 
and the Weeping, should not be planted on estates 
of the size cf those under consideration as they 
are purely decorative trees without character or 
meaning, that belong to the landscape-garden type 
and have not as much merit as many shrubs. 

The Beech and Linden are good trees that may 
be used sparingly in rather prominent positions. 
It is a great deal better not to plant too many 
varieties on a small place or the grounds will look 
like an arboretum, but of course the good trees 
that are available should be used. The Tulip or 
Whitewood is a pyramidal-shaped tree of much 
grandeur when mature. It has large, smooth, 



94 



COMMON SENSE GARDENS 



lobed leaves, and a large flower shaped like a Tulip, 
greenish yellow with orange markings, and fra- 
grant. But its growth is rather slow and it is not 
easy to transplant. If there are any Hickory, 




Transplanted Pin Oaks 

Chestnut or Walnut trees on your land when it 
comes into your possession they should be retained 
by all means, but there are many other trees that 
it would pay better to plant, as the Nut trees take 
years to become interesting and useful and have 
their disadvantages; the Chestnuts although beau- 
tiful in flower litter up the lawn horribly ; the Hick- 



A FEW GOOD TREES 95 

ories lose their leaves early; the Walnuts breed 
millions upon millions of caterpillars that eat up 
at least two sets of leaves during the summer. 
Of the three the Chestnut is the most desirable. 
Poplars are quick growing trees that are used 
principally for screens, but they are very short- 
lived and almost worthless. They lose their 
leaves early, frost or no frost, and if the season 
is at all dry the first of September will see them 
bare and unsightly. The single exception in the 
family is the Lombardy, which is the longest lived 
of the tribe. It may be used very sparingly in 
semi-formal work on small grounds as an accent 
on the rest of the planting. One or two are more 
effective than half-a-dozen, and their positions 
should be carefully chosen. They are foreign 
notes that should be very softly introduced into 
the composition of the American yard or they 
will spoil the harmony. One or two might be 
used as a link between a house that exhibits a 
continental theme of architecture, and the gar- 
den. When one sees a Lombardy Poplar one 
thinks instinctively of France, and why should 
one be reminded of France when walking in one's 



96 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

garden? On the Continent they were used prin- 
cipally to border very long, very straight stretches 
of roadway and canals. 

The Buttonball (Sycamore or Oriental Plane) 
trees should not be planted on small grounds for 
the present, anyway, until some remedy has been 
found for the disease that has been ravaging them 
for the past seven or eight years. Formerly their 
universally good health was one of their recom- 
mendations, but now they lose their leaves early 
in June and their wood becomes so weakened that 
it is broken easily by the wind and scattered over 
the lawn. 



CHAPTER VI 

EVERGREENS AND OLD BOX 

VERGREENS are 
really more effec- 
tive in AVinter than 
in Summer, but 
they should not be used 
with only that thought in 
mind as they are most val- 
uable in combination with their decidu- 
ous neighbours. The fault generally to 
be found is that they are overplanted or 
not planted in the right way. Large 
beds or masses are very good in a botan- 
ical garden for educational purposes, but 
they are hardly the thing for a gentle- 
man's place, especially a small one. The 
use of so many varieties gives a museum- 
like, stuffy appearance to the grounds. 
Each one has some particular virtue or 

pecuharity of shape, growth or colour to 
97 




98 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

recommend it, but one should be satisfied to pos- 
sess a few good specimens, which if planted well 
will be much more enlightening than a large and 
variegated collection. Simphcity is always dig- 
nified and in good taste; and the grounds should 
never be on a more elaborate scale than the 
house. 

The planting of evergreen trees at Arlington has 
been mentioned in another chapter, but it was so 
effectively done that I cannot help referring to it 
again as an example of successful grouping and 
colouring. Several varieties of much the same 
form, but of different heights and shades of green, 
were combined in groups among the deciduous 
trees in such a way that the attractive qualities 
of each were brought out and accented. Ever- 
greens were linked in an oft-broken chain, connect- 
ing one plantation with another; and gathered 
together lightly in groves to break the steepness 
of the hillside, so that the eye is relieved when it 
instinctively ascends to the top of the hill on which 
the mansion stands. There are no great contrasts, 
but the various trees are exceedingly well-blended, 
and that is the secret of planting evergreens, — to 



EVERGREENS AND OLD BOX 99 

blend them well with the other trees. The plant- 
ing at Arlington was clone before the era of Japan- 
ese shrubs, and strange to say one does not miss 
them in the least. 

It is difficult, almost impossible on a small 
place, to use strange forms and colors of ever- 
greens without making them seem incongruous, 
and giving the grounds the appearance of a public 
park where it is necessary to follow a systematic 
arrangement. You should strive by every means 
to keep such an effect from your place, and the 
simplest way to do it is to use only a few varieties 
of trees and shrubs of good character and colour. 
In carrying out such an idea you will also be put 
to much less expense, for fancy trees are costly 
and very uncertain, having to be replaced fre- 
quently, and although your neighbours may vie 
with each other to plant as many different and 
expensive kinds as they can procure, your house 
will at least be set in an appropriate and dignified 
frame. There is no necessity for crowding your 
lawn with trees because they are rare or novel; 
they will surely spoil the general effect and they 
will not contribute much to your enjoyment or 
LOfC 



100 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

peace of mind, the two principal objects to be 
considered when arranging one's grounds. 

White Pine trees should always be planted if 
there is any place for them. The New Englanders 
used them in rows in front of their houses, or for 
screens and wind-breaks; or they placed them on 
some commanding knoll as silent sentinels over 
the other trees, and as such they were a distinct 
addition to the grounds. Bordering a road they 
are most impressive when the Winter wind sways 
their graceful tops and soughs through their 
branches with the weird melody of an iEolian 
harp. They are good trees to use for making 
alleys; the ground beneath them becomes in time 
thickly carpeted with their needles and decorated 
with their cones. They live to a great age and 
grow to the height of a hundred and fifty feet or 
more in some localities, but as time adds to their 
stature their appearance is often changed ; the lower 
branches die or are lopped off to give light and air 
when their growth and that of the neighbouring 
trees has become too dense. Two White Pines 
placed conspicuously, near the house, will give a 
minor cadence to the general planting that is often 




Nursery-grown White Pine Trees. 



EVERGREENS AND OLD BOX 103 

needed to soften the contrast between garden and 
grounds. 

The Norway Spruce is a good tree that has been 
used too much because it is cheap and grows 
quickly. It is too thick and dark and lowering to 
plant very near the house, as it effectually shuts 
out light and invites dampness. It is desirable to 
have a few Spruce trees near at hand, however, for 
in Winter they are the refuge of many birds that 
are well protected by the close-knit foliage; robins 
will make a grove of Spruce trees their home 
through the Winter, and their presence is always 
welcome. It is not a native tree but it has been 
so widely cultivated that in many instances it has 
escaped. It is larger and altogether more majestic 
than either the White or Black Spruce, and the 
branches are more drooping; this last characteristic 
gives it a melancholy expression which, as it is a 
rather heavy tree, makes it unattractive to many 
people. It is particularly beautiful amid snow- 
clad surroundings, and dear to the hearts of chil- 
dren on account of its association with Christmas, 
a fact that should not be ignored, for the children 
should be considered when the grounds are planted 



104 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

as the influence of trees and flowers in forming 
character is a marked one. If partly covered with 
snow the branchlets of the Spruce become so droop- 
ing that they give almost the appearance of weep- 
ing. Spruce trees are particularly useful for 
screens and wind-breaks, and are planted by many 
people for hedges, for which latter purpose they 
are of doubtful value as they have many unde- 
sirable qualities. They do not do well if placed 
where they get the drippings from other trees. 
As the Spruces will bear close clipping they are 
often used for topiary work in America, where 
topiary material is hard to find; the tops are cut 
back and the lower growth is encouraged. Then 
they are shaped into balls, pyramids, and cones, or 
even made into more fantastic forms. They are 
not really appropriate for such a purpose, however, 
for while the effect from a distance is good they are 
coarse and heavy, and a very poor imitation of 
Box or Yew. 

Nordmann's Silver Fir {Picea Nordmanniana) is 
a glorified variety of Spruce that should be planted 
if possible in place of the Norway or native. It is a 
tree of more moderate size but of splendid propor- 




Spruce, Pine, and Cedar. 



EVERGREENS AND OLD BOX 



107 



tions and of exquisite grace and colouring, shading 
from very dark, rich green to greenish grey under- 
neath. Its branches are carried lower than any 
other Spruce tree, the bottom ones often sweeping 




Group of Cedars 

the ground. This tree is of slow growth and devel- 
opment and expensive to procure, but it will give 
much pleasure to any one who is fond of evergreens, 
and is most valuable on account of its habits and 
colouring where permanent planting is done. 



108 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

All things considered the native hemlock {Tsuga 
Canadensis) is a better tree to use on a small place 
than the Norway Spruce. It is more graceful, and 
although it does not grow into so large a tree (and 
this is really in its favour) its fohage is extremely 
delicate and more fringe-like and drooping; it is 
altogether less clumsy and therefore easier to com- 
bine with other trees in a limited area. 

The Larch is a deciduous tree that has the ap- 
pearance of an evergreen, and is generally consid- 
ered as one. In Spring when it is budding it is a 
beautiful sight with its dehcate green plumelets, 
but its effect in Winter is rather depressing; it 
reminds one of a dead evergreen which, on account 
of some oversight on the part of the owner, has not 
been removed. Unless one has some sentiment or 
association for the Larch it would be just as well 
not to use it on a small estate. 

The Irish Juniper is a tree of a beautiful silvery 
green colour that should be very carefully used in 
semi-formal work, for it is extremely formal in 
appearance. It is hardy if not planted in too 
exposed positions, but is of the slowest growth 
and requires a great deal of patience to develop. 




Cedar growing on Top of Rock. 



EVERGREENS AND OLD BOX 111 

In the neighbourhood of Washington it does ex- 
tremely well and has been used at Arlington where 
there are several handsome specimens. 

The Red Cedar is a most beautiful tree. Its 
growth is naturally pyramidal, but when found 
near the coast it is often twisted into the most 
fantastic and weird forms. If your place is bare 
of Cedars it would hardly be worth while to plant 
them, their development is so exasperatingly slow; 
but if Nature has thrown any of them in your way 
be most careful to preserve them as they give much 
character to the surroundings. They are to be 
found growing in the most absurd places, where it 
would be impossible to establish any other form 
of tree, or even Cedar itself by transplantation, on 
the tops of rocks with apparently no soil in sight, 
tentacled around stones like petrified devil-fish, 
out of the clefts of rocks where birds have dropped 
the seeds, very often hanging from the face of a 
cliff or boulder. They are natural formalities of 
the landscape that can be made the basis of semi- 
formal plans. Although it is possible to trans- 
plant these trees when they are found growing 
freely in loam and not with their roots forced into 



112 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

the clefts of rocks, the risk is great, especially if 
the tree has attained sufficient age to make it 
attractive; and the operation is not recommended 
to amateurs. In Winter the well-defined outlines 
of the Cedar trees stand out with clearness against 
the snow, the dark green foliage showing a little 
subdued and rusty in the frosty air. Dignified in 
the extreme,, they do not lower one's cheerfulness 
like the funereal Spruce. In some parts of the 
South, Maryland and Virginia particularly, one 
notices the Cedars lining the lanes as if they had 
been carefully planted, when the birds perching 
on the near-by fences are entirely responsible for 
their appearance. These trees are very beautiful 
when located on a terrace among flowers. The 
green of their fohage is of much the same colour 
as the English Yew and it sets oft' most effect- 
ively such bright blooming plants as Phlox, 
or Foxgloves and Lihes. This tree is so desirable 
that if you have any well-shaped specimens it 
would be a good plan to work up your grounds 
and garden to them. 

The Japanese evergreens that are planted so 
much nowadays are very attractive, but their use 




Red Cedars on the Lawn. 



EVERGREENS AND OLD BOX 115 

should be confined to Japanese gardens or to 
Japanese effects in large parks or gardens. The 
majority of them are quite hardy, but if the ther- 
mometer goes below zero the Retinisporas, the 
most beautiful of them all, will be killed. 

Modern Box trees, that is, those grown for the 
trade in Holland and Belgium, no matter how 
carefully they have been trimmed, cannot give 
the same feeling to a new yard as a few venerable 
specimens ruthlessly torn from the garden of an 
old farmhouse, where for a hundred years they 
have been the features as their more fantastically 
clipped prototypes were the features of Pliny's 
elaborate plaisance. The Box trees grown in the 
gardens of long ago were propagated from stock 
of Buxus sempervirens obtained in England and 
Holland. It is quite different in appearance from 
most of the specimens offered in the nurseries to- 
day, which are varieties of the old shrub, but gen- 
erally quite dissimilar in character from their 
common ancestor. It was used for hedges and 
edgings, and as its habit of growth was more com- 
pact, the leaves smaller and lying closer together, 
and the colour richer, when carefully pleached it 



116 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

presented the smooth surface so much admired 
and sought for. The old Buxus sempervirens was 
used also for specimens on the lawn or in front of 
the house, and if allowed to grow freely it devel- 
oped into the most picturesque tree of pecuUar 
conformation. On page 121 is a picture of an old 
hedge of Buxus sempervirens and a specimen tree 
of the same variety that was probably planted at 
the same time. There is one on each side of the 
porch steps of this old farmhouse in Westchester 
County, It has taken many, many years for 
them to reach so large a size. Buxus semper- 
virens var. arhorescens is the Tree Box that is 
grown in large quantities in Europe. If used for 
edging it will be found to develop much more 
rapidly that the old variety, although the colour 
is not so good nor the growth so compact. In 
Washington, D. C, arhorescens has been much 
used in the public squares where it has grown to 
the height of ten or twelve feet. 

Modern Box resembles the low-toned, scarred 
antiques about as much as machine-made furniture 
reproduced to-day from the designs of Hepple- 
white and Sheraton resembles the time-softened 



EVERGREENS AND OLD BOX 119 

maple and mahogany of the eighteenth century. 
The reproducer unconsciously adds a touch or two 
of his own which spoils the effect. Yet good re- 
productions of old furniture are not to be ignored 
when one cannot obtain originals, and modern Box 
is far better than no Box at all, and should be 
plentifully used in the garden and on the grounds. 
Buy forms that you can shape yourself more or less 
after the patterns of the old shrubs, and the 
rounder they are the better they will look, for old 
Box was generally either dumpy and plethoric 
and appeared as if it were a crinoline, or it was 
shaped like an inverted pyramid. The clipped 
pyramidal forms are the least desirable and are 
usually the most plentiful and cheap. 

The old specimens are of great assistance to 
anyone who is trying to produce the effect of an 
old yard and garden, but unfortunately the sup- 
ply is limited. The revival of garden-making dur- 
ing the past few years has stripped the nurseries 
of the few old and attractive specimens that they 
once possessed, and the owners of good Box trees 
in the small towns and villages are fast becoming 
educated to the value of their long neglected heir- 



120 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

looms. The bargainer will have to be diplomatic 
and persistent and possessed of a well-filled purse, 
for when the expenses of lifting and moving and 
replanting are added to the original bill of sale 
the figures will tot up to a considerable sum. 

The moving of these old specimens should be 
entrusted to men of experience, for the operation 
is by no means a simple one and the risk is great. 
Many nurserymen make a specialty of moving 
Box for their rich patrons, and they have been 
quite successful, although it seems to be more or 
less a matter of luck. Small trees can be suc- 
cessfully moved in late October after the first 
really sharp frost, and they should be reset in the 
same quality of soil as that to which they have 
been used, a light loam. Good drainage should be 
provided, for the accumulation of water around 
the roots is fatal. Avoid setting them in heavy, 
clayey soil that holds moisture and freezes hke a 
rock, or in cuppy ground where the water is apt 
to collect around their butts. Care should be 
taken not to break the tap roots, and to keep the 
wind and air from drying out any of the roots 
while in transportation. When setting the tree. 




Old Box. 



EVERGREENS AND OLD BOX 123 

puddle the loam as it is thrown back into the 
excavation, as that will settle it more closely about 
the roots than the most careful tamping. Be 
sure to protect the roots by a liberal dressing of 
coarse litter, and when that is removed in the 
Spring substitute a good mulch of fine, well-rotted 
manure. As Box is such a greedy feeder it should 
be watered through the Summer with manure 
water, and if this is done the results will not only 
please but surprise you. December, after the 
ground is well frozen, is the best time to move 
large and very old specimens, for then a good ball 
may be lifted with the roots very much as if they 
were potted. The condition of the trees, the 
quality of the soil in which they are reestablished 
and the care and intelligence with which the trans- 
plantation is effected seem to have more to do 
with successful moving than anything else. 

Another good evergreen, a native of north- 
eastern America, is the Arbor Vitae {Thuja oc- 
cidentalis), a White Cedar of quicker growth than 
the Red. It is a tapering tree twenty to fifty feet 
high, with close, dense foliage that bears clipping 
well. It is extensively used in America in formal 



124 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

work for hedges, arches and screens, in fact it is 
the only tree we have that can be grown and 
trimmed into sohd looking walls as the Yew is so 
extensively trained and trimmed in Enghsh gar- 
dens. Thuja pyramidalis is a variety of more 



f 


r -^ l^mBHBdiS^^^Saml 


^m^m"^ 


iiiiiiiiiiijp 


H^^^P 


'SJHBB^^^U^HB 



Arbor Vitse Pyramidalis 

marked pyramidal form that may be used in semi- 
formal work to take the place of Red Cedar, for it 
has much the same appearance although it is a 
more living green in colour. Arbor A^itae occi- 
dentalis is perfectly hardy. The best screen that 
I have ever seen made with it is located on the 
summit of a high, exposed ridge in northern 
Connecticut, where it is buffeted by all the Winter 



EVERGREENS AND OLD BOX 



m 



winds that blow; where the mercury often gets 
and stays below zero. This screen is twelve or 
fourteen feet high and has doorways cut through 
it. It is very old and must have been closely 
clipped for generations, yet it is apparently in 
perfect condition, effectively sheltering an old 
farmhouse. 

The best trees to use in planting a small estate, 
in the order given, are: 



Deciduous 
Pin Oak 
White Oak 
Red Oak 

Swamp, or Red, Maple 
Elm (uncertain on ac- 
count of insects) 
Norway Maple 
Sugar Maple 
Linden, or Basswood 
Copper Beech 
Tuhp, or Whitewood 
Lombardy Poplar 
Larch 



Evergreen 
White Pine 
Native Hemlock 
Norclmann's Fir 
Arbor Vitae occidentalis, 

for walls and screens 
Arbor Vitse pyramida- 

Us, for semi-formal 

effects 
Red Cedar 
Norway Spruce 
Irish Juniper 



126 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Use White Pine and Hemlock with Pin Oak 
and the Maples; Nordmann's Fir and Red Ce- 
dar with Elms and White and Red Oaks; Ar- 
bor Vita3 and Cedar with the Pin Oaks; Norway 
Spruce with the Oaks, Elms, or Maples, but 
sparingly. 

The Oaks may all be planted together or with 
Hickory and Chestnut; the Swamp Maple with 
the other Maples and with Pin Oak; the Elm is 
better by itself, as also the Linden, Copper 
Beech and Whitewood. Lombardy Poplars are 
to be used very sparingly in connection with the 
house and the garden. 



CHAPTER VII 

CHOOSING SHRUBS AND SMALL TREES 

MANY people im- 
agine that shrubs 
are wasted if they 
are not massed 
together in great planta- 
tions, where they present a 
solid phalanx of bloom for 
two or three days each year. The rest of 
the time the bed is dark and unattractive 
and is a blot on the lawn, detracting 
from, rather than adding to the surround- 
ings. Such a system may sometimes be 
convenient on large and bare estates 
which are difficult to plant anyway, but 
on small grounds shrubs should be used 
generally as individual specimens so that 
their beauty may be seen and admired, 
so that the good quahties of each may be 
appreciated; they should not be consid- 

127 




128 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

ered from the standpoint of their bloom alone. The 
same rule should be followed as when disposing of 
furniture in a room; you do not hide a beautiful 
china-closet of rare workmanship by placing an- 
other cabinet or a desk or a settee or a lot of chairs 
all about it, encompassing it and hiding its grace- 
ful lines and form. 

I have always thought that the plan of planting 
in masses was followed by the nurserymen and 
landscape gardeners because a great many plants 
have to be used. The arrangement is expensive 
and extravagant, besides being commonplace and 
clumsy, and much better effects can be obtained by 
placing each shrub where it belongs, where it will 
always look at home and can remain undisturbed 
for an indefinite time, after the manner of old 
yards and gardens. Used in such a way shrubs 
have a meaning and give feeUng to the house and 
grounds; and a man of moderate means may plant 
and enjoy them. 

When buying shrubs, if there is no nursery in 
your immediate vicinity, you should choose one 
that hes in a colder latitude or one just as cold as 
that in which your place is located. By doing this 



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CHOOSING SHRUBS AND SMALL TREES 131 

you will get stock that is hardy and will be pretty 
sure to thrive. Plant shrubs in the Fall if possible, 
in October or November, or in the very early 
Spring; and always protect the roots for the first 
Winter with a good dressing of straw or coarse 
litter. 

Closely pruned shrubs are prim looking and 
ugly; the natural growth is pretty sure to be more 
graceful than any that you can encourage by the 
shears. The fantastically clipped forms that were 
common in the Roman gardens and the gardens 
of the Renaissance, and that were over-extensively 
used in England up to the middle of the last 
century, are out of place on small grounds; they 
make them look top-heavy. Avoid the badly 
pleached Box that is offered to-day in so many 
nurseries, for they are poor imitations and detract 
from the true value of the garden. Try if you will 
to get the old, round forms that are found in the 
old dooryards, but do not buy pyramids and 
standards. 

Cut away the dead wood from shrubs in the 
Spring; and it will be necessary often to cut back 
the Mock-orange, for its growth is apt to be rank 



132 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

and ungraceful; and remove some of the side 
branches that stick out and destroy the general 
synmietry of the bushes. Except for cutting out 
the large suckers the Lilacs should never be touched 
with shears, but allowed to grow in their natural, 
own sweet way. For the rest, the pruning may 
be left to the common sense of the owner, with the 
gardener kept at a distance. 

There are so many shrubs that are attractive and 
desirable that it is hard for the novice to make a 
choice. If he leaves the selection to a nursery- 
man he will get a little bit of everything, for the 
average nurseryman thinks that variety is the 
spice of planting. One does not realize how large 
a shrub bill may become until it is sent in, and 
then it is difficult to check up the various items 
that have been scattered over two or three acres, 
for many of them even in that short space of time 
will doubtless have died from want of care and 
knowledge on the part of your gardener, or be- 
cause they were weaklings when they left the 
nursery and should have received the attention of 
a trained nurse. You should superintend the 
planting carefully, for you cannot be sure that any- 



CHOOSING SHRUBS AND SMALL TREES 135 

thing either inside or outside the house will be 
particularly well done if left entirely to the tender 
mercies of servants. 

It is a much better plan to know exactly what 
you want and to choose the varieties yourself. 
For that reason you should patronize the nurseries 
in your neighbourhood, as then you can run over 
at odd times when you have the leisure, or when 
the particular shrubs you are interested in are in 
bloom. Tag these carefully with the copper-wired 
tags which the nurseryman will provide, and on 
which your name should be plainly written with 
an indelible pencil, so that there will be no doubt 
about identification when the time for transplant- 
ing arrives. 

The nurseryman will want to sell you novelties, 
of which an incredible number are put upon the 
market every year; and some of his reasons for 
doing so will not be entirely disinterested. The 
bejginner should leave novelties alone, especially 
if the area to be planted is limited and his pocket- 
book is not over-extended. Novelties are the best 
anti-fat for a plethoric pocketbook that has ever 
been devised. 



13G COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

If you should send an order to a nurseryman 
located at some distance from your home, the 
chances are that all the stock that you receive will 
not come up to your expectations. The nursery- 
man, being only human, will average up the lot so 
that about fifty per cent of the trees and shrubs 
will be pretty poor; the rest, fair to medium. 
Your order will probably have been filled at a low 
price, but in the end you would have found it 
cheaper to patronize your own nursery. It does 
not pay to buy job lots of shrubs and trees, for 
there is a great demand for good stuff and you 
may rest assured that there was something queer 
about your ''bargain." 

The home nurseryman will generally be ready 
to replace trees that fail, unless they die through 
gross carelessness on your part or the part of your 
gardener, and he will always take an interest in 
your place, giving you much advice from time to 
time, which he will not be likely to do if you ignore 
the home industry and patronize outside firms. 
When the nursery is near by, transplantation can 
be more safely effected, as it is possible to wait 
for the right kind of weather. This is worth 



CHOOSING SHRUBS AND SMALL TREES 137 

much in Spring, for then the plants that are moved 
on a rainy, muggy day are hardly checked at all; 
and there is a better chance of quick recuperation 
than when the stock has been kept on the train 
for days, perhaps weeks, no matter how carefully 
it may have been taken up and packed. 

Beware of travelling agents and men who do 
what it called a cellar business. The former are 
only interested in selling their wares, never in the 
wares themselves; many of them do not know a 
Geranium from a Rose except by the pictures they 
have seen. The plants handled by the latter class 
of dealers are apt to be out of the ground a long 
time, and that does not benefit their constitutions; 
or if dormant they often begin to sprout before 
you receive them. Both are apt to disappoint you 
when it is too late to place your order elsewhere, 
for they do not keep track of the supplies in the 
nurseries they represent and are altogether irre- 
sponsible. It is much better to deal directly with 
some reliable house. 

The Lilac is a shrub that you will surely wish to 
see well represented on your grounds. As sug- 
gested in Chapter IV, much better effect can be 



138 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

had with old specimens, which you should be able 
to procure from some ancient farmhouse in your 
neighbourhood. You should have a White Lilac in 
the flower garden, for it will Uve to a good old age 
and grow more picturesque every year. Lilacs 
look well near the house — in front of it, if it is pos- 
sible to put them there, at either side of the porch. 
One never tires of them in the latter place; they 
seem really a part of the house. They may be 
planted to overhang the garden hedge or to border 
a walk, or for an untrimmed hedge behind an old 
wall, or on top of a bank. Planted thickly along 
the partA^ line they make a good screen, and are 
less stiff and formal than a fence and more useful 
to your neighbour. You really cannot have too 
many of them, as they contribute more to the at- 
mosphere of home than any other shrub. Old 
bushes can be moved by the '^lired man" under 
your direction; but if you get them from a nur- 
sery confine your choice to the old varieties. I 
have moved Lilacs when in flower, and they have 
gone on blooming just as if they were used to a 
carriage-drive every day. 
The white flowering native Dogwood (Cornus 




'S 

> 



O 

a 



CHOOSING SHRUBS AND SMALL TREES 141 

Florida) is found in the woods where it comes into 
bloom when the leaves of the surrounding trees 
are just bursting from the buds, and the effect is 
as if the flowers had been floating through the for- 
est and were caught on the outstretched branches 
of the other trees. It is much better used in this 
way, or on the edge of a wood or grove, as it needs 
the dehcate green to set off its white stars; it is 
not half as attractive or interesting when planted 
by itself on the lawn. This tree may be trans- 
planted from the woods, but good specimens are 
generally to be found in the nursery, and are surer 
to succeed. 

Magnolias are rather formal trees that 
should be planted in pairs to appear to the best 
advantage. Very good varieties are soulangeana 
and conspicui, of very much the same shape and 
bearing the same kind of flowers, except that the 
petals of soulangeana have a dark red base. These 
trees blossom before they throw out their leaves, 
the end of April, and are often nipped by the frost, 
when the flowers turn an uninviting brown. There 
is a shrub-like variety of Magnolia, stellata, which 
is rather slow to develop. The flowers are star 



142 COMMON SENSE GARDENS. 

shaped and are borne in great profusion, covering 
the branches. This variety is most effective on 
the edge of a wood treated as a large shrub. Mag- 
nolias should always be transplanted in the Spring; 
and they will take a year, and sometimes two, to 
get over the effects of moving and start growing 
again. 

A very graceful tree of small size is the Labur- 
num {Laburnum vulgare). It is not used much in 
this country, but is popular in England. It is tall 
and shght with delicate green foliage, and the 
branches bend over gracefully and nod with ra- 
cemes of yellow flowers. Laburnum does well in 
partial shade and needs a great deal of moisture, 
so that in dry Summers it should be plentifully 
watered, and the fohage sprayed. This tree is 
worth growing and is a good one to have in the 
garden; it is really a garden tree. Plant it in a 
corner near a hedge or a fence post, and place 
Foxglove around it to hide the trunk, which is gen- 
erally bare for several feet. Or it is very nice 
swinging gently over a garden seat; it blossoms in 
June. 

The native Hawthorn (Cratcegus coccinea) is 



CHOOSING SHRUBS AND SMALL TREES 145 

an attractive tree with red flowers not unlike the 
English Hawthorn. Hawthorns may be used for 
pleaching, that is, interweaving their branches 
overhead. There is a pleached Hawthorn arch at 
Holly House, Peacedale, Rhode Island, the home 
of Roland Hazard, Esq., which Mrs. Earle has pic- 
tured in her ''Old Time Gardens." Another va- 
riety, Cratoegus crus-galli, makes an excellent hedge 
as its thorns effectually keep off cattle, dogs, etc., 
but it is not used for this purpose to any extent, 
perhaps because it is rather slow to start, and 
everybody nowadays seems to be in a hurry. 




CHAPTER VIII 

GOOD SHRUBS FOR THE YARD 

HE first shrub to 

blossom in Spring 

is the FoRSYTHiA, and 

its bright yellow bells 

are a cheerful addition to 

the brown lambrequins of 

April; it is a harbinger of 

the glorious blossoms that will follow in 

quick succession until frost. If for no 

other reason than its earliness this shrub 

should be planted, but it is ornamental 

later on when the bright green leaves 

appear. It is massed in great bunches 

on many estates, but is good enough to 

use as a specimen along a roadway or 

path. Fortunei is the earliest variety, 

which is followed by viridissima before 

the last blossoms of fortunei have faded, 

thus making a good succession lasting 

147 



148 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

two weeks or more. It should not be pruned un- 
til after it has blossomed as the flowers are borne 
on the old wood. It will grow eventually into a 
large bush seven or eight feet high. In England 
the Forsythia jortunei is trained sometimes against 
walls, the principal branches being tied up for 
three or four feet and the slender shoots allowed 
to droop over gracefully. When trained over a 
bank or stone wall the Forsythia is effective, for 
its growth is vigorous and its foliage bright and 
clean, 

Philadelphus Coronarius, or Mock-orange, is 
a good shrub to use with Lilacs; it is generally seen 
with them hanging over an old picket fence, or 
leaning from the top of a bank. Its blossoms 
have the same odour as the orange flov\^er, from 
whence its popular name is derived. Old speci- 
mens can be moved easily, but they grow rapidly 
and should be pruned vigorously into shapeliness. 
Do not put Syringas in clumps, as they have too 
much character to be used in that way. It should 
hardly be placed in the garden, but will look well 
in front of the house in the same way that Lilacs 
are used. 




Old Syringa in a Cottage Yard. 



GOOD SHRUBS FOR THE YARD 151 

The oldest and best Weigelia is the rosea. In 
June its branches are weighed down with crushed- 
strawberry coloured flowers, and it blooms again 
later in the season. It is easy to grow and devel- 
ops quickly, but it is not so desirable as either the 
Lilac or Mock-orange; do not crowd out anything 
else to make room for it. The other Weigelias do 
not compare to it. 

Viburnum Plicatum, or Snowball, has better 
qualities and is more substantial and attractive 
than the Weigelia. One or two specimens should 
be used along the paths or driveway. 

Hibiscus Syriacus, or Althea, is a shrub that 
you will find in the old yards, very often grown 
into a large tree that every August becomes laden 
down with its Hollyhock-like flowers. The oldest 
colours were white and rose-pink, and a rather un- 
attractive purple wMch one can do without very 
well, although it is quite quaint in its homeUness. 
These shrubs were plentifully planted near the 
house, or as screens along paths, and as they grow 
old they have a habit of bending over so that 
they present a venerable appearance. Althea is 
necessary for old-fashioned '' colour " in the yard, 



152 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

and is also desirable to plant because of its 
strength and vigour. 

Deutzia Crenata bears a white flower in June 
and grows into a large shrub of graceful habit. It 
should be planted against a background of trees 
or hedges, on the outskirts of the lawn, with some 
low-growing plant at its base, such as German Iris, 
for the lower parts of the branches are bare. 

The Flowering Almond was always to be found 
in New England dooryards. It is a small shrub 
bearing myriads of tiny Rose-shaped flowers strung 
along its branches before the leaves appear; there 
is a white and a pink variety. It is a good shrub 
for the garden as it blooms very early, and its 
associations are old-fashioned and respectable. 

Another old-fashioned shrub about which much 
mystery and sentiment hangs is the Calycanthus 
Floridus, or Strawberry Shrub, whose reddish- 
brown inconspicuous blossoms have a strong Pine- 
apple odour, quite pungent and very acceptable 
to childish nostrils. Be sure to have two or three 
of these bushes clumped together somewhere in 
the yard — against the fence, at the end of a path 
slightly secluded — for your children would miss an 



GOOD SHRUBS FOR THE YARD 153 

important part of their childhood were they to 
grow up strangers to this bush's mysterious spell. 
It has a soothing effect and a sympathetic one, 
and children are apt to seek it when overwhelmed 
by fancied troubles that they cannot unburthen to 
their elders, or plunged in the unexplainable mel- 
ancholy that they sometimes experience, and that 
is unfathomable even by their mothers. 

Hypericum Prolificum is a little yellow-flow- 
ering shrub that grows well and blooms in the 
shade. It is useful along wooded paths where a 
httle colour is needed in Summertime and is so 
hard to procure. 

California Privet {Ligustrum ovalifolium) is 
an effective shrub when used as a specimen. Its 
colour is good and it holds its leaves so long that 
it could almost be called an evergreen without 
stretching the imagination very far. It is of very 
quick growth and may be shaped readily with the 
shears into a rotund bush, which makes a very 
good supplement to a wooden gatepost. Privet 
is easily transplanted and it is possible to move 
large specimens without risk. It will do much 
better if freely supplied with water and the foliage 



154 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

occasionally sprayed, if the hose is handy; in Mid- 
summer it should be mulched with lawn cHppings 
to keep the soil from drying around the roots. 

The Bush, Honeysuckle (Lonicera tartarica) 
was introduced many years ago from Russia, but 
became naturahzed in the neighbourhood of New 
York and was a feature of the old Westchester 
County gardens, in whose ruins it can be found 
to-day long after the houses have disappeared. It 
is almost evergreen, retaining its leaves well into 
January. It is long lived and attains a large size, 
becoming in time quite as gnarled and picturesque 
as the White Lilac. At the end of April just be- 
fore the leaves appear its long, gracefully drooping 
branches are completely covered with a sweet- 
scented blossom hke the old-fashioned honeysuckle, 
only the flowers are smaller and of an exquisitely 
dehcate construction. Large specimens of this de- 
sirable shrub may be successfully moved, and if 
you could find one it would prove a great adchtion 
to your grounds. 

Rhododendron Maximum, the native Rhodo- 
dendron which is very common in Pennsylvania 
and southwards, and is found also in New England 



GOOD SHRUBS FOR THE YARD 157 

and New York, has been used much for naturaUz- 
ing in the past few years. In fact it has been used 
too much, especially on large estates where it is 
thickly plastered over every available space. The 
first thing a millionaire does after closing the pur- 
chase of a tract of land on which to build a mansion, 
is to order a train-load of Rhododendrons. He 
evidently seems to think that he thus estabhshes 
beyond doubt his status in the county. Rhodo- 
dendrons are much more effective when used spar- 
ingly, and planted not too close together, for they 
grow into dense masses of thickly matted foliage 
and crowd each other out in a short time. A few 
Rhododendrons are a great addition to a small 
place — a carload or so is a detriment. The loca- 
tion for them is in partial shade along the edge of 
the wood, on slightly rising or uneven ground. A 
good clump thus placed where it will be seen at a 
slight distance from the driveway is more enjoy- 
able, and looks better than enormous plantations 
stretching in all directions like a nursery. They 
will not grow on limestone soil; they prefer a light, 
sandy loam, and once established in this they arc- 
not much care except that they should be kept 



158 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

from drying out. In very hot weather towards 
the end of Summer they should be watered, and a 
mulch of rotted manure apphed during July. If 
you live in the latitude of New York or northward 
procure your plants from New England or northern 
New York. In some localities they are found in 
profusion and it is easy to transplant large speci- 
mens. The broad-leaved Laurel {Kalmia lati- 
folia), a near relation of the Rhododendron, is a 
valuable shrub, considered by many even superior 
to the Rhododendron. It is an ideal shrub to have 
near the house as its form is most attractive and 
its bloom superb. The Laurel blooms a Httle later 
than the Rhododendron, and it is well to combine 
the two as they look much ahke and, when thus 
used, the blooming season of the clump will be pro- 
longed. When Rhododendrons are taken from the 
woods they are apt to be imperfect in conformation, 
and therefore not as desirable for specimens to use 
near the house as the nursery grown hybrids that 
are imported from Holland and England. English 
Rhododendrons are by far the better grown; among 
those that are recommended by W. Robinson, the 
English authority, and which are hardy, are: 



good shrubs for the yard 161 

Album Elegans Blandyanum 

Album Grandiflora Caractacus 
C. Bagley C. Dickens 

EVERESTIANUM LadY ARMSTRONG 

Lady Claremont . Purpureum Elegans 
RosEUM Elegans H. W. Sargent 
Both the Laurel and Rhododendron are evergreen. 
When the blossoms have faded pick off the seed 
pods so the strength of the plant will not be wasted. 
Rhododendrons only bloom profusely every other 
year. 

Lihes grown in the bed with Rhododendrons and 
Laurel not only do very well but present a most 
charming appearance. Lihes need the shelter that 
the Rhododendrons so well supply, as they are sus- 
ceptible to late frosts and are injured by the buf- 
fetings of the wind which they do not well with- 
stand. And then Lilies do better in the partial 
shade where Rhododendrons should be placed. The 
bright, glossy leaves of the shrubs make an ideal 
background and base for the graceful nodding caps 
and bells. Use Lilium longiflorum, Lilium umhella- 
tum, Lilium tigrmum., Lilium candidum, Lilium 
auratum for a succession. 



162 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Holly is a most decorative plant, especially 
when it is old enough to bear the bright red berries. 
The use of Holly and other evergreens in rehgious 
ceremonies dates from pagan times and it is con- 
sidered in these days a welcome addition to Yule- 
tide; in fact it has grown to be a part of Christ- 
mas itself. It is hard to nurse the EngHsh Holly 
through a northern Winter unless some protection 
is given to it. It is a good shrub for the yard, and 
should be planted where it may be seen from the 
house; it is far too attractive to waste its sweetness 
on the desert air, as it well might if planted in the 
garden, for it is in Winter that it is at its best. 

The Native Holly (Ilex opaca) which is found 
from Massachusetts southwards to Florida grows 
into a tree ten to thirty feet in height, with a com- 
pact head of spreading branches. It is particu- 
larly good in Virginia and was used there quite 
often near the house. It is not often found in 
northern gardens, although there is no reason why 
effective and beautiful hedges could not be made 
of it. 

The best small trees and shrubs to plant, in the 
order named, are: 



GOOD SHRUBS FOR THE YARD 



163 



Trees 
Native White Flow- 
ering Dogwood 
Native Red Thorn 
Laburnum 
Magnolia 

Evergreen Shrubs 
Box 
Holly 

Rhododendron 
Laurel 



Shrubs 
Lilac 

Philadelphus 
Tartarian Honey- 
suckle 
forsythia 
Viburnum 
Deutzia 
Weigelia 
Hypericum 



CHAPTER IX 

WALLS OF STONE AND BRICK 

^P^Tj^^^HE most ungainly 
^i I fence that has ever 

vy^ I been devised is made 
(A, ^Bl by running lengths of 
gas pipe through upright 
wooden posts, and coup- 
ling them together. From 
an aesthetic point of view such a fence 
has not one redeeming feature, its ugli- 
ness stands out uncompromisingly and 
detracts from whatever beauty the house 
and grounds may possess. It is strong 
and easy to construct, and is quite cheap 
considering its substance; and it has a 
smug, neat appearance that many people 
cannot resist. They excuse the use of it 
by saying that they intend to cover it 
quickly with vines. They may cover 
it but they cannot hide it; the most 

165 




166 COMMOxN SENSE GARDENS 

luxurious tropical growth would be unable to veil 
its protruding personality. You would know it 
was a gas-pipe fence if it was boarded up and vines 
trained over the boards, and you would shudder 
when you passed it and instinctively anathematize 
the plumber that invented it. If men are known 
by their works you would recognize a man who 
built such a fence around his yard or garden as 
one who, although he might be rich, yet was penu- 
rious; perhaps kind to his wife and children, but 
possessing no real affection; and you would pity 
his family. You would place him as a tradesman 
who had risen from the ranks, but who certainly 
deserved to be degraded again, and sum up by 
adding that whatever he was he possessed no soul; 
for souls and gas-pipe fencing are farther apart 
than earth and Heaven. 

A wire fence is not so bad because it is incon- 
spicuous; it is often necessary to erect one to keep 
the grounds and garden inviolate from marauding 
dogs and fowls, and a hedge can be grown around 
it, quickly obhterating its outhnes from the land- 
scape. When a hedge is used, however, a gas-pipe 
fence is unnecessary, because it cannot keep out 







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WALLS OF STONE AND BRICK 169 

small animals, and cows and horses know enough 
to go around through the gateway. The posts of 
a wire fence should be made so Ught and thin that 
they are almost invisible. 

Next in ughness to the gas-pipe fence is the wall 
that is made of mortar, with stones of various 
shapes and sizes stuck into it after the manner of 
raisins and almonds in a plum cake, presenting a 
very rococo appearance. Field stones laid in mor- 
tar, with deeply sunken joints, is a modified form 
of this atrocity. These walls are extremely com- 
monplace and should be used only with houses 
built of field stone or in the rustic or Swiss chalet 
style, on a mountain-side, or in a primitive coun- 
try, — if they are used at all. They should never 
appear near a garden, for the beauty of beautiful 
flowers is degraded by their coarse ugUness. At 
seashore colonies on rockbound coasts they are 
often found; and the da.untless Nasturtium is the 
only flower that can be used near them without 
appearing ridiculous. At one time they were sup- 
posed to be artistic; it must have been when the 
tide of art was at very low ebb in this country. 
These walls are insults to nature when used among 



170 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

beautiful wild trees such as Oaks, and cry out dis- 
cordantly in semi-formal arrangements. At the 
present time one finds them around jerry-built 
houses of hideous architecture and gaudy colour- 
ing. And in such surroundings they are more at 
home. 

. The old, rather loosely jointed stone walls that 
are common in New York and New England are 
very picturesque, and if your place is enclosed by 
one you should retain it by all means. A stone 
mason will set it to rights in a short time, level it 
up, fill in the holes, straighten the large stones and 
rehabilitate it generally, at a small expense. 
Good capstones should be laid to keep the other 
stones in place, and Honeysuckles, Roses or Vir- 
ginia Creeper planted to run over them. You 
will find that the effect cannot be improved. 

If you decide to have a wall build a dry one, 
that is, one that is laid up without mortar. Do 
not let the mason construct it in too smooth a 
manner, but try to get the effect of an old wall. 
The Italian stone masons are very expert at this 
work (and nearly every Italian is a stone mason) 
and if there are any old walls on your place, or 



^^^0^'r- ; 












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hMW-: 




Old Stone Wall. 



WALLS OF STONE AND BRICK 173 

any stones left from the excavation of your cellar, 
you cannot use them in a better or a more econom- 
ical way; such a wall will last forever. In work 
of this kind it is always best to use native stone 
and not to import any of strange tones or colours. 

Walls of cut stone are only appropriate for elab- 
orate parks when the house is built of cut stone. 
The character of the walls and fences should be 
determined by the character of the house, espe- 
cially if they will be seen together. You do not 
want your gateway to appear as if it had been con- 
structed for some mansion that has since been 
destroyed, and was utilized to save the bother 
of building another. 

Walls are too massive and heavy to use for gar- 
den enclosures, unless they are connected with the 
house to form a forecourt, for instance, or unless 
the features of the land demand them, when the 
garden can be placed in their shelter. A small 
garden situated on the lawn, or near it, should not 
be enclosed by a wall; a picket fence or a hedge is 
far better. The custom of shutting in a garden 
with high walls is not followed in America except 
when such a course is necessary to secure privacy; 



174 



COMMON SENSE GARDENS 



the sentiment of the country is opposed to it. The 
walled grounds and gardens of England are survi- 
vals of mediseval days when one's neighbours were 
inquisitive and generally obnoxious. We admire 




Picket Fence on a Low Brick Wall 

them as curiosities, quaint relics of the past, but 
we should not long to imitate them. 

By far the best material to use for walls on a 
small place is brick, the ordinary, everyday brick 
that is made on Long Island or in the Hudson val- 
ley, not the smooth, weirdly red pressed brick that 
is used for chimney pieces and the fronts of houses. 
Harvard brick is a pretty good colour and texture, 
though a httle dark, but if you use it eschew the 
black headers for they give a speckled, artificial 
effect that is out of place in a garden. The com- 
mon brick ages rapidly; the red softens down and 
the lines lose their hardness. Near the coast where 



WALLS OF STONE AND BRICK 175 

there is a great deal of moisture it looks antique 
in a year's time. It is soft and brittle, too, and 
wears and crumbles away in the most enchanting 
manner. It gives the needed colour to a garden 
in Winter, and most flowers look well growing 
against or near it; altogether it is most desirable 
if it can be used without appearing to strain for 
effect. Face a retaining wall with brick, or build 
brick piers at the corners of the garden between 
the hedges. For making a flight of steps it is far 
and away ahead of stone; and it combines excel- 
lently with the materials that are most used in 
the construction of small houses, — brick, stucco, 
shingles or clapboards. 

The best stone to trim brick with is marble, but 
unless marble is used in trimming the house it 
would be too conspicuous in the garden. Blue- 
stone is bad; never use it to cap brick walls or 
make steps of, especially dressed or cut bluestone. 
The best cap for a brick wall is what masons call 
a rowlock, bricks stood on their sides and over- 
hanging the wall for two or three inches front and 
back. The rowlock cap was used extensively in 
the South where bricks were a favourite material 



176 



COMMON SENSE GARDENS 



in all construction. There are miles of beautiful 
walls in Annapolis, Maryland, capped this way, 
or with the round moulded cap which makes an 



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Another Wall with Picket Fence 

attractive finish. You can get moulded bricks 
nowadays, but be sure that they are of the same 
character and colour as those used in the wall. 

Walls under six feet in height are usually made 
one foot thick, but eight inches is sufficient if the 
wall is built in the right way, with three courses 
of stretchers and then one of headers, and the 
joints filled in with good mortar made of Portland 
cement. If you are afraid the rowlock cap will not 
withstand the weather, let the mason float three- 
eighths of an inch of Portland cement over it. This 
is a good precaution in Northern climates and does 



WALLS OF STONE AND BRICK 177 

not detract much from the effect of the wall. The 
foundation for a wall should be at least three feet 
and a half deep, or down to sohd rock; otherwise 
the frost will be sure to get under it and throw it. 



-V 



Old Southern Wall with Moulded Brick Cap 

Above is a picture of an old Southern wall with 
a moulded cap; and on the next page can be 



178 



COMMON SENSE GARDENS 



seen a wall around the garden of a house near Bal- 
timore that was built in 1773. Note how ex- 
tremely well the house and wall combine. Never 
use tile, especially glazed tile, to cap a brick wall; 
no finish at all would be preferable. 

The Southerners used a very good combination 
of brick wall and picket fence; there is such an 
enclosure on one side of the garden at Mt. Vernon. 
On page 174 there is a reproduction of this fence 
which has been built to make a forecourt for a 




Old ]^rick Wall with Moulded Cap 

house of Colonial design, and to shut off the 
kitchen garden from the lawn. The trees around 
it are very old, pyramidal-shaped Cedars, and 



WALLS OF STONE AND BRICK 



179 



there is a large Pin Oak at one end of it. They 
all look as if they had grown up together, the hap- 
piest of families. The fence combines so well with 
the house that it seems to be a part of it, and the 
whole effect is decorative and old fashioned. The 
gate of the fence is a slight modification of the 




Brick Retaining AVall 

gate at Mt. Vernon. The rounded pickets of the 
fence are used in the top panels instead of the 
square, pointed ones of the original; otherwise it 
is a faithful reproduction. It is a good rule 
when copying old forms to stick to the originals 
as closely as possible, and make them fit into the 
surroundings. On page 176 there is another ex- 
ample of this style of fence with long and short 
pickets morticed into the rails. 

The drawing shows a retaining wall built of stone 
and faced with brick. Such walls are inexpensive 
to build and are very effective. The one illustrated 
was placed in a small garden that is a httle below 



180 



COMMON SENSE GARDENS 



the level of the lawn. A straight path between 
Privet hedges leads from the front porch to a flight 
of brick steps, and along the top of the wall a low 
Privet hedge has been planted. It forms a charm- 
ing background for Hollyhocks, and Lilies and 



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Old English Gate 

Larkspur, and although only four years old it has 
become soft and subdued. 

The handgate shown here is a simple one and 
could be reproduced with good effect; do not use 
elaborate gates for they do not belong to this 
period, or style of wall. The picket fence that is 
used on a brick wall should always be painted 



WALLS OF STONE AND BRICK 183 

white. Whitewash gives a better colour if you can 
make it so that the first shower will not wash it 
off, a thing that I have never been able to do. 
Powdered rice is mixed with it to make it stick. 
If whitewash is to be used, the posts and pickets 
should be made of rough, unplaned wood. 

The most charming results were produced in the 
South with bricks, the people seeming to under- 
stand their possibilities there better than in any 
other part of the country. But the South was 
more prosperous then than New England, and 
bricks were an expensive material; for some years 
they had to be imported from England. 




CHAPTER X 

FENCES AND HEDGES 

ICKET fences of the 
same character as 
those seen in com- 
bination with brick 
walls, make good enclos- 
ures for gardens. The use 
of pickets or palings dates 
at least from the sixteenth century, when 
Englishmen utilized them if brick and 
stone, their favourite materials, could 
not be procured. They painted them 
green, but the Colonial fences from which 
those of to-day are patterned were in- 
variably white. The later Colonial archi- 
tecture is a modification of the Georgian, 
which has left its impress on many parts 
of the Eastern States. It was adapted 
by the colonists to the climate and their 
pocketbooks, and thus became softened 
185 




136 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

and toned down to a pleasing extent. A white 
picket fence with a few good vines trained over some 
of the posts and along the pickets, makes a very- 
light and graceful enclosure that is an addition to 
the setting of a shingled house, or one of stucco or 
brick. 

The posts of such a fence should be made of 
Chestnut or Locust (the latter is the more dura- 
ble), and it is better to tar the ends that are jjut 
in the ground. The cap is built on, and should 
be surmounted by a finial of some sort to set it 
off, an urn or a ball or an acorn. The urn is 
Georgian, the acorn is found on fences in England 
of a much earlier period, and is appropriate in the 
neighbourhood of Oak trees. Such finials can be 
turned at any mill, but as soon as they leave the 
lathe they should be set in linseed oil and left 
until thoroughly saturated; then given a heavy 
coat of white lead, for otherwise they will check 
and split off when exposed to the weather. 

The arched gateway on page 189 is a simple one, 
but of ancient origin. In the ''Romance of the 
Rose" there is an illumination of a garden that 
dates from the fifteenth century, and in it there 




Box Walk; Mt. Vernon. 



FENCES AND HEDGES 



189 



is a gateway dividing a fence that is practically 
identical in form and appearance to this one. The 
garden was surrounded by an embattlemented wall. 






Arched Gateways 

The gateway in the picture is reproduced from one 
that stands in an old garden at Portsmouth, New 
Hampshire. On the next page a section of fence is 
pictured. Such a fence is not expensive to build 
and the effect is good. Vines should be trained 
on the posts, and used with discretion on the 
pickets. Light vines such as Clematis, Rose, 
Honeysuckle or Virginia Creeper are the best 



190 



COMMON SENSE GARDENS 



kinds. On page 193 are some good posts that 
may be used with either fences or hedges. 

Box, Privet, Hemlock, Arbor Vita^, Holly and 
Spruce are suitable for hedges. A hedge is really 
the best thing with which to enclose a garden, 
or the path leading to one, if it is situated on 
the lawn. A hedge needs some setting off, how- 
ever, and brick piers or painted wooden posts 
(page 193) should be used for the four corners 
and entrance; or for the latter a wooden arch as 
seen on the previous page. A good combination 
of hedge and arch is shown opposite, to use 
for a path when a partly arboured patliAva}^ is 
desired. The arches may be covered with either 




A Picket Fence 



Honeysuckles or Roses; the former are really better 
for they carry their blossoms nearly all Summer 
and are almost evergreen; in fact by the time 



FENCES AND HEDGES 



193 



they lose their leaves most people have lost their 
interest in outdoors for the season. If you use 
Roses plant Wichurianas, or their hybrids, for their 
fohage, though of dehcate construction, is a rich 
dark green that holds well, and is not much pestered 
by insects. The Ramblers are really worthless for 
any position that will be prominent the whole sea- 
son. Privet can be used for the hedge part, al- 
though Box would be better; or Roses or Honey- 
suckles may be festooned from post to post instead 
of the hedge; or both used and the hedge kept 



R. 




^ 



Some Posts for Fences or Hedges 



low. If the posts are used without a hedge they 
should have bases built on Hke the caps. 



194 COMMON HEXSK CiAllDE.VS 

Hemlock is fine hedge material. It has a grace- 
ful, feathery growth and, when clipped well, presents 
a smooth appearance, the fine foliage intei'lacing. 
If grown for a hedge the top should be bevelled, 
for if left flat the snow and ice will lodge on it and 
weigh it down, destroying the lighter branches. 
Hemlock does well in the shade, which is more 
than can be said of most plants that are appro- 
priate for hedges. It should be protected from the 
sun the first Winter, especially if it is on the south 
side of a wall or fence, or else it will be scalded. 
When planting, cut back the tops, and do not trim 
it the first year or two. The liemlock hedge on 
the next page is on the south side of a wall, but is 
well shaded by the Elms and Maples that sur- 
round it. It composes beautifully with the old dry 
rubble that shelters it from the north Mdnds. 

Privet is a shrub that has been roundly abused 
both in England and America; some people have 
given up planting it because they consider it too 
commonplace; others have torn it out for the same 
reason and replaced it with something not half so 
good. Nurserymen recommend other plants to 
take its place, and one that they seem to favour 



FENCES AND HEDGES 197 

at the present time is Japanese Barberry. Bar- 
berry is an attractive, low growing shrub, but as 
it cannot be trimmed effectively it is useless where 
a good hedge effect is wanted. Ilex Crenata, Jap- 
anese Holly, makes a nice hedge, but it is not 
hardy much north of Richmond. 

California Privet is of very quick growth and 
possesses so many good qualities that it should 
not be ignored. If you have a hedge of it and can 
afford the room in your kitchen garden, or some 
out-of-the-way corner of your place, you can prop- 
agate good plants from the clippings. These will 
come in very handy either to set new hedges with, 
or to fill up gaps that may occasionally occur in 
the old one. Plant the cuttings with two eyes in 
the ground and two eyes out, and use the stoutest 
shoots you can get. Transplant them in the Spring 
and thereafter prune them into shapely specimens. 
Although Privet is not evergreen it retains its 
colour and leaves into Winter, and when once it 
starts to grow in Spring it progresses rapidly. In 
fact, one drawback to Privet as a hedge is the 
frequency with which it has to be clipped in the 
growing season. 



198 COMMON SENSE GARDEN o 

Mature Privet does not seem to be affected much 
by drought unless planted very near rock, but it 
can absorb a great deal of moisture and does better 
when provided with it; young plants should be 
carefully watered in dry seasons to assure their 
good health. It will grow in partial shade but will 
not thrive there; the part of a hedge that is under 
the trees always looks scraggly and mean. In 
some parts of New England, in exposed positions, 
Privet cannot be successfully grown. It will do 
weh apparently in any ordinary soil, but its de- 
velopment is wonderful in hght loam. Be sure to 
top dress the plants in the Fall, and fork in the 
old manure in the Spring. 

If a Privet hedge is used to enclose a garden, 
have paths parallel it, and leave only a space of 
two feet or so between the paths and the hedge. 
The stone filhng of the path will keep the roots of 
the Privet from intruding on the garden, and from 
sucking up the moisture and substance from the 
soil. In the bed that borders the hedge you will 
be able to grow Nasturtiums, but not much else. 
The tall growing Nasturtium is the best for the 
purpose, and as it grows it should be trained over 




Nasturtiums climbina; over Privet Hedae. 



FENCES AND HEDGES 201 

the hedge and let fall in festoons on the outside, 
or along the top. The effect obtained by such a 
method is distinctly good, as the Nasturtium will 
be in bloom from the first part of June until frost, 
and the bright blossoms are well shown off against 
the dark green of the hedge. In some of the best 
old gardens of England Nasturtiums are trained in 
this way up over the high Yew hedges and screens. 
The seed should be planted about the tenth of 
April in the neighbourhood of New York, unless 
the season is very backward. If you would rather 
you may have the bed between the path and hedge 
in grass, where you can naturalize clumps of Jap- 
anese Iris with Crocuses, TuUps and Narcissi 
growing between them. These may be left undis- 
turbed as they will have ripened by the time 
the grass has to be trimmed. 

To obtain the best results with Privet as a hedge 
use three-year-old plants, and set them out in two 
alternate rows, fourteen inches apart, and eight or 
ten inches apart in the rows. When they become 
estabhshed in this way the branches interweave 
and form a compact, sturdy mass, and so support 
each other that the snow and ice of the severest 



202 



COxMMON SENSE GARDENS 



Winters will not break them down. A hedge may 
also be made with a single row with less expense, 
the double row only being used when a particu- 
larly substantial result is desired. After setting 
out Privet cut it back to the height of eight or ten 
inches, and keep the pruning shears well employed 
for the first and second seasons at least. Such 
treatment will make the bushes strong and stocky 




Old Box Hedge near Baltimore 

and cause them to furnish close to the ground, so 
that in the end it will be possible to trim the hedge 
square, and produce a clean cut wall of Uving 
green. After the hedge is well started you should 
cut back into the old wood every year, when you 



FENCES AND HEDGES 203 

first trim it. Beyond the clipping, a Privet hedge 
takes pretty good care of itself. 

Privet is a very good material for an amateur 
''topiarius" to practice on. It grows so rapidly 
that mistakes are quickly covered up, and with a 
little care it may be shaped into almost any form. 
Buttresses may be made to hedges, and piers 
with finials, and the top of the hedge between the 
columns gracefully turned. Pleaching, however, 
should be done with a level and a line if you ex- 
pect to get satisfactory results. This sort of work 
is very amusing and interesting, and adds to the 
general effect of the grounds; but a little goes far 
on a small place. 

Box is an expensive plant to use for hedging pur- 
poses, but there is nothing so good. The same ef- 
fect cannot be got with Privet or Hemlock or any 
other hedge plant. It is not feasible to move an 
old hedge, as it is almost impossible to fit it to- 
gether again, although some nurserymen claim to be 
able to accomplish the feat. Plants of Tree Box 
can be procured from the nursery fifteen to thirty- 
six inches in height, and those that have been al- 
lowed to grow in their natural way should be 



204 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

selected. They are generally more or less pyram- 
idal in form, terminating in a slightly pointed 
top, sometimes in two tops. Set these bushes 
close together, cut the tops off and trim the sides 
level; they will make a very good beginning for a 
hedge, but should not be allowed to grow upwards 
until they have grown well into each other. Such 
a hedge should be carefully fertilized every year, 
and if it is in a slightly exposed position it should 
be protected with a screen of boards until well 
established. It will not be necessary to board the 
hedge up, in fact this is really worse for it than 
no protection at all. Cover the butts with coarse 
litter or salt-grass, and give plenty of manure 
water during the Summer, and especially during 
the growing season. On the next page there is a 
photograph of an old hedge in Westchester 
County, New York, which for many years has been 
well established on the top of a stone retaining 
wall, hedging in the yard. It was badly scarred 
in the Winter of 1903-05, and at present writ- 
ing there are many gaps in it which have made 
the heart of its owner sad. A garden enclosed 
by a good Box hedge, with posts at the corners 



FENCES AND HEDGES 207 

and entrances, makes an ideal decoration for a 
lawn. 

Arbor ^^ita3 is often used for making hedges, but 
as it grows old it is apt to lose some of its lower 
branches and to present a moth-eaten appearance. 
A beautiful variety is the golden although a lit- 
tle too decorative; but occidentalis is perfectly 
hardy and surer to succeed. 

Native Holly {Ilex opaca) makes an attractive 
hedge, but I would hardly recommend its use for 
enclosing a garden in northern latitudes. If you 
have some position that is sheltered it would repay 
you to try it, for it is particularly beautiful in 
Winter. Spruce is too coarse and clumsy for a 
hedge except on a very large scale, and it will not 
do well near other trees; it is more valuable for a 
screen or wind-break. A Spruce hedge does not 
blend well with a garden of old-fasliioned flowers 



CHAPTER XI 

OLD AND NEW ROSES 

OSES have been iden- 
tified with Eng- 
land since be- 
fore the time of 
gardens, and in that damp 
and rather sunless isle they 
flourish exceedingly, claim- 
ing more attention than any other flower, 
and blooming profusely for five months 
in the year. An Englishman uses Roses 
everywhere; to him they are emblems, 
and the chief delight of the countryside 
where he passes the better part of his 
life. He trains them over his house and 
porch, and upon the high walls with 
which he delights to surround himself, 
and arches them over the garden paths- 
he makes hedges of them and colonizes 
them by themselves in Rose gardens, 

209 




210 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

where he spends much of his time studying their 
habits or watching them grow, revelhng finally in 
their luxurious bloom. Unfortunately in the neigh- 
bourhood of New York and to the northward, we 
are limited in the use of Roses ; there are compara- 
tively few varieties that do well under ordinary 
garden conditions, and that can be brought into 
satisfactory bloom without the services of a skilled 
gardener. 

Although a Rosebush is a thing of the most ex- 
quisite beauty when in flower, its fohage is so sus- 
ceptible to mildew and rust and the ravages of 
insects, that by the time the bloom has passed the 
plant presents a bedraggled appearance, and grows 
more shabby as the season progresses, so that it 
detracts from the freshness of its surroundings and 
casts a sort of bhght over the other flowers. If 
for no better reason space in the garden should 
be given to but few Roses, and they ought to be 
so placed that by the end of June they will be 
overgrown by the other plants, and their shabbi- 
ness covered up. The principal features of a small 
garden should be its freshness and vigour, and 
freedom from any suggestion of disease among the 



OLD AND NEW ROSES 213 

flowers which it contains. The long canes that 
roses throw out quickly after blooming and that 
should be allowed to grow uncut to develop the 
bushes properly, are most ungraceful, and give a 
ragged, neglected aspect to the grounds. The 
Roses that are used should be arranged so that this 
awkwardness will be swallowed up by the growth 
and bloom of the other flowers. 

In the Rose family the one variety that seems 
to be entirely immune from the attacks of insects 
is RuGOSA, the Japanese Rose that grows quickly 
into a bush five or six feet high, thickly clothed 
with dark green foliage that appears early in the 
Spring. It bears single white, or reddish pink flow- 
ers, with a delicate Rose perfume, in May. The 
haws, or seed pods, are large and bright red, and 
are quite decorative, for they are conspicuous amid 
the healthy green foliage. If Rugosa is pruned a 
little through the Summer it will bloom abundantly 
until Autumn. This Rose should have a place in 
the garden, in a corner or somewhere near a path 
where its perfume will not be entirely lost; its 
freedom from disease makes it ever welcome to 
the eye. It is also good along a walk in the yard, 



214 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

and will blossom and thrive in partial shade. It 
is well to remember that the red variety is more 
vigorous than the white, and will grow into a 
larger bush. There are hybrids of Rugosa, but they 
are not as satisfactory as the parent. Blanche 
Double de Couhert, which bears a double white 
blossom of much fragrance, is considered the best. 
Hybrids of tliis sort have never had much attrac- 
tion for me; the chief interest and beauty of the 
original Rugosa is its large single blossom so 
charmingly borne — then somebody comes along 
and hybridizes it into an Allegheny Hollyhock! 
Satan certainly finds much mischief for idle hands 
to do. 

For the sake of association there are several 
Roses that should be represented somewhere on 
a small place, and notable among these is the 
Provence, or Cabbage Rose {Rosa centifolia). Its 
scent is the typical Rose scent that one associ- 
ates with the odour of Box ; it is the most fragrant 
of aU Roses. Our grandmothers dried the petals 
and put them in jars, to which they turned for 
refreshment during the Winter when the garden 
was odourless. 




Old English Dove Cote. 



OLD AND NEW ROSES 217 

The Moss Rose is a variety of Provence that 
has a distinct scent of its own, more aromatic than 
that of the Cabbage ; and a feathery growth around 
the calyx that got it its folk name. The best Moss 
Roses are: 

Common Moss; pale pink in colour; most useful 
as a bud. 

White Bath; white, tinged with pink; about 
the best. 

Crested Moss; with mossy bud and crest; very 
fragrant. 

Blanche Moreau; a beautiful, large rose of 
good shape; produced in clusters. 

The Moss Roses are all perfectly hardy, but with 
the exception of Crested Moss are not easy to grow 
on account of their extreme susceptibility to mil- 
dew and rust. They should be vigorously pruned, 
for their growth is wild; and kept out of the flower 
garden. 

York and Lancaster (Rosa Gallica) is a red 
and white striped Rose of ancient origin. They had 
it in England in the sixteenth century, and Shakes- 
peare mentions it as one ''nor red, nor white, had 
stol'n of both." It used to be a favourite in the 



218 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

old gardens of America, and in the Van Cortland 
garden, at Croton, New York, there is a specimen 
which Mrs. Earle estimates to be over a century 
old; it is still quite vigorous and bears many 
blossoms every year. York and Lancaster may 
be had of modern growers, and should be placed 
in the rose garden, or near a front yard path. 

Rosa Lucida is a Rose of American origin which 
Miss Jekyl, the noted Enghsh amateur, says is one 
of the commonest Roses in old EngUsh gardens. 
She complains that a Rose which has for so long 
been popular in England has never received an 
English name. Its nomenclature is derived from 
the glossy green of its leaves. The flowers are 
large and single and borne in clusters; they come 
into bloom in July and last several weeks. This 
Rose can be supplied by nurserymen, and could be 
used with good effect for naturaUzing in the neigh- 
bourhood of the garden. 

There were few yellow Roses in the very old gar- 
dens; for some time Banksia was about the only 
representative of that colour. In the year 1830 
Persian Yellow and Harrison's Yellow were 
introduced. The flowers of the former are of good 



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OLD AND NEW ROSES 221 

colour but small. Harrison's Yellow bears a me- 
dium size semi-double flower and blooms much 
freer than Persian. It makes an attractive-looking 
bush but should not be placed in the garden, rather 
on some distant spot where it may be seen and 
not heard, for its fair flowers cry to Heaven. If 
you should by some untoward accident pluck one 
of the rather tempting, golden blossoms, and in- 
vestigate it with your nose, it will seem to you as 
if all the insects in the garden had crawled into 
it and died. 

There were many Summer Roses grown in the 
New England yards that have disappeared entirely 
from present-day gardens. The old yards were 
overrun with Roses, running, climbing, standing, 
rechning, and creeping over everything; in June 
the dooryards must have presented a carnival ap- 
pearance. When they began to wane, however, 
the garden lost its interest to a great extent, for 
these old Summer Roses rarely bloomed more than 
once in a season. And what a beautiful time the 
bugs must have had ! To-day, the Hardy Perpet- 
uals and the Teas, and the modern CHmbers have 
taken their places. The Enghsh Sweetbriar {eg- 



222 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

lantine) was brought over at an early date; perhaps 
it came in the ''Mayflower" along with the ten 
thousand spinning wheels, chests and chairs that 
were ferried to the New World. It was so generally 
cultivated that it escaped to the roadside and mas- 
querades to-day as a wild Rose. It is unique be- 
cause of its sweet-scented foliage ; and may be had 
from the nurseries under the name of Rubignosa. 
An old Rose of much merit because of its bush- 
like form and plenitude of bloom is Madame Plan- 
tier, introduced in 1835. The colour of the flow- 
ers is white and they are borne early in the season; 
as many as a thousand blossoms have been counted 
on one bush. If these old Roses are wanted, most 
of them will have to be sought in the old gardens, 
from whence the proprietors doubtless will let you 
take cuttings if you approach them in an humble 
and reverent spirit. The new Roses of course, do 
not always console one for the loss of the old; one 
longs for the sights and the smells of childhood 
almost as much as for 

" the touch of a vanished hand, 
And the sound of a voice that is still." 

The perfumes, the sentiment, are not the same. 




stone Steps and Gateway. 



OLD AND NEW ROSES 225 

But one cannot have everything, and modern Roses 
have a beauty and charm of their own that flower 
lovers cannot fail to appreciate, although in the 
depths of their hearts they are sure that they do 
not compare to the less gaudy, though more fra- 
grant blossoms of the olden days. 

Following is a list of some of the old Roses, with 
their bloom and some of their characteristics de- 
scribed briefly. 

Damask Rose, of which Rosa mundi, or York 
and Lancaster is a variety; used by the colonists 
for rose water; in the East for attar of roses. 

Crimson Boursault {Alpine Rose). 

Banksian; double yellow, from China in 
1807. 

Musk Rose (Rosa Moschata); used in the East 
for attar of roses. 

The sweet-scented June Rose of many thorns, 
common to the dooryards of New England and 
New York. 

The Cinnamon Rose; in some parts of England 
called Whitsuntide, with small flat flowers, and a 
distinct cinnamon odour. 



226 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Scotch Briar, or Burnet-leaved Rose; white and 
yellow, very fragrant. 

Rosa Alba, or Maiden's Blush; an old cottage 
garden rose; white and pink. This rose is very 
susceptible to blight, and was not generally an or- 
nament to the garden after June. 

The Dog Rose. 

The Burgundy Rose, 

The Black Rose. 

The Fairy and Garland, two miniature Roses 
that were especially dear to the hearts of children. 

If you have set your heart on having Perpetual 
Roses in the flower garden, plant them in the large 
beds along the paths, eight or nine feet apart, and 
two feet in from the edging, so that other flowers 
may be planted in front of them and they will be 
hidden after the first of July. This treatment is 
not meant to be recommended as a particularly 
beneficial one for Roses, although it does not seem 
to harm them; if any should succumb they may be 
easily and cheaply replaced. 

Ulrich Brunner is one of the best of the Re- 
montant Roses. Its foliage is particularly healthy 
and free from insects, and quite thornless; the 



OLD AND NEW ROSES , 227 

flowers are a deep cherry-red colour, borne on long 
stems. It blooms freely in late June, and reblooms 
in September. The growth of this Rose is strong 
and vigorous, and the buds open out gradually, 
lasting for a long time whether left in the garden 
or cut and put in water. The greatest drawback 
to this plant is its want of compactness, the canes 
growing to the length of two feet or more before 
throwing out buds. 

Magna Charta is a good pink Rose that bears 
many flowers on rather short stems, so close to- 
gether in fact that they have the effect of clusters. 
A strong and vigorous grower, very hardy and 
making a shapely bush in a short time. Cut off 
the flowers as they begin to fade or they will hinder 
the growth of the remaining blossoms. 

General Jacqueminot is the well known dark 
red Rose that blooms more brilliantly after a severe 
freezing, and may be grown without the slightest 
trouble. The flowers are almost worthless for cut- 
ting as they do not hold their colour. 

Coquette des Blanches, a hybrid Noisette 
Rose, but may be considered and used as a Re- 
montant. The flower is white, tinged slightly with 



228 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

pink. It makes a symmetrical bush, and blossoms 
rather late, prolonging the Rose season. It is 
hardy and easy to grow. 

Paul Neyron, the largest of all the hardy Roses, 
but rather difficult to bring into bloom successfully 
on account of the uncertainty of the buds, and the 
certainty that the insects will destroy them. This 
Rose will look shabby and uninteresting unless 
much attention is given it, and its foliage fre- 
quently sprayed from the time the leaves begin to 
appear. 

Anne de Diesbach is a hardy Rose and a good 
bloomer, bearing many large and deliciously fra- 
grant flowers of a rich carmine-rose colour. The 
flowers are of fine form and are very good for cut- 
ting; stems quite long. A charming Rose, and 
really next in value to Ulrich Brunner. 

Mrs. John Laing, soft pink in colour, with large, 
fragrant blossoms, and perfectly hardy; a good 
blooming Rose. 

There is a Polyantha Rose, Clothilde Soupert, 
that should have a place in the garden. It is white 
in colour often changing to hght rose, and two 
distinct colours are often seen on the same plant. 



OLD AND NEW ROSES 229 

There is a pink variety that is also good, but it 
does not bloom quite so freely as the white. This 
Uttle Rose bears its flowers in clusters and keeps 
putting them forth unceasingly from the middle of 
June until the black frosts ; I have found it bloom- 
ing in the garden after several days of hard freezing 
weather. It is of a most modest disposition and 
will consent to bloom unseen for an indefinite pe- 
riod. It has been forgotten in the garden and 
allowed to become completely smothered by the 
rank Midsummer growth of Dahha, Phlox, Zinnia, 
etc., and yet appeared smilingly, covered with 
bloom after a heavy frost had mowed down its 
more susceptible companions. It has never re- 
quired more protection in Winter than the perpet- 
ual Roses. 

Transplant Remontant Roses in the Fall if pos- 
sible ; if not, then very early in the Spring, in March, 
while they are still dormant and when the frost is 
just out of the ground. If the season is rainless 
watch them carefully and be sure that they do 
not dry out. Very good Roses are grown in Cali- 
fornia, much better than in Holland, and these 
should be used if you cannot obtain plants from 



230 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

some Northern nursery. Dormant Roses set out 
in the Spring will not bloom well the first year, 
and will be a little later than those established in 
your garden; but by filling out with dormant 
stock each year you will prolong the blooming sea- 
son to quite an extent. If dormant Roses are dried 
out when they are received bury them in a damp 
trench for two or three days, and they will come 
to life again. 

Remontant Roses do better in clay soil but will 
grow perfectly well in good garden loam. If pos- 
sible, get Roses that have been grown on their own 
roots, but if they are budded plants, set the bud 
three inches underground and cut off any shoots 
that are thrown off belc\w it, as soon as they ap- 
pear. These you will be able to recognize as they 
differ in character from the budded growth. The 
roots of Roses should not come in contact with 
stable manure; if you use a shovelful in the ex- 
cavation cover it up with three inches of good soil 
and let the roots find it. Cow manure is the best 
to use. As soon as the buds start in the Spring 
saturate the ground around the roots with manure- 
water (half cow, half horse), of the colour of fairly 



OLD AND NEW ROSES 231 

strong tea, twice a week until after blooming time. 
You will find that the flowers will be improved in 
size and borne more profusely. 

Some English gardeners in the Spring lay down 
two or three of the long shoots of the Hardy Per- 
petual Roses, merely cutting off a couple of inches 
from the ends, and peg them to the ground. The 
other shoots are pruned back. In this way more 
bloom may be had, but of course the method should 
only be employed in the Rose bed or Rose garden. 
The next year these shoots are cut off and other 
shoots pegged down to take their places. 

The Perpetual Roses that have been described 
are quite able to withstand the hardest Winter in 
the latitude of New York, and there is no neces- 
sity for providing straw wrappers for them, or for 
laying them down and covering them vip with straw 
or leaves. A good mulch of coarse manure mixed 
with long straw is all they need, with some cow 
manure spaded in lightly in the Spring. There- 
after the ground about their roots and between the 
plants should be kept loosened with a hoe until 
the Roses have bloomed; after which time once 
every two weeks will suffice for cultivation. If you 



232 



COMMON SENSE GARDENS 



wish to have healthy plants and good flowers, the 
ground must be kept loose and fine. 

The Roses in the flower garden need not be 
pruned back so vigorously as those that are grown 
for specimen blooms. The idea in the garden is to 
make attractive looking bushes that will be covered 
in due season with flowers. Cut back the plants 
in the Spring to the height of one or one and a half 
feet, leaving the thick shoots the longest, and re- 
moving all of the dead wood. 















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Rose Beds 



CHAPTER XII 

EVER-BLOOMING AND CLIMBING ROSES AND VINES 



ONTHLY, or 
Ever - blooming 
Roses, need 
much more care 
than the Hybrid Perpet- 
uals and, unless given it 
will be apt to prove a dis- 
appointment Although they are called 
Ever-bloommg few of them blossom con- 
tinuously throughout the season, and 
the name is misleading. They have to 
be watered and sprayed and coddled to 
keep them in good health; and their 
leaves watched for mildew, which is pre- 
vented by sprinkling powdered sulphur 
over them early in the morning, when 
they are still wet from the dew. The soil 
in the beds should be kept loose and 
fine and frequently moistened, especially 

233 



234 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

during the hottest clays of our dry and trying 
Summers. 

They are not hardy and should be covered in 
Winter. The best way to do this is to fence the 
beds in with wire netting two and a half or three 
feet high, and fill the enclosure with leaves, laying 
clown the long shoots so that they will be well cov- 
ered up. A few cornstalks or scraggs should be 
laid on top of the leaves to keep them from blowing 
away. This will provide a good protection, and the 
roses will emerge all right in the Spring if the mice 
have not eaten them up. To guard against such 
an appalling contingency ''rat biskit" should be 
plentifully crumbled up on the bed before covering 
it, and some of the pieces of the poisoned cracker 
scattered through the leaves. In April when the 
covering is removed the bed should be spaded up 
to the depth of three or four inches, and some well- 
rotted manure, which should be two years old to 
insure the best results, worked in. As soon as the 
leaves appear begin to spray them with a mixture 
of tobacco and whale oil that comes in cakes like 
soap, and may be dissolved in a pail or watering 
pot as you wish to use it. 




dS/eetf. 30 feet 



EVER-BLOOMING ROSES AND VINES 237 

It is better to grow Ever-blooming Roses in beds 
by themselves, or in a Rose garden where you may 
pick the flowers every day and their beauty will 
not be missed. Perpetual Roses grown in the same 
manner will give more satisfaction, too, than if 
they are scattered through the flower garden. If 
you cannot make a Rose garden, prepare a few beds 
in some out-of-the-way corner of the place, that is 
well drained and protected from Winter winds, 
where the plants will get the early morning and 
the afternoon sun, and will be partially protected 
from the blistering heat of midday. If you locate 
such a bed with an eye to the future, some day 
you may be able to work it up into a Rose garden; 
enlarged, enclosed by a hedge or fence, and more 
extensively planted. On page 232 is given the 
plan of a collection of Rose beds that will hold 
about a hundred Roses; and on page 235 the same 
beds appear elaborated into a garden. 

Ever-blooming Roses require a good loam, or 
compost, richly fertilized with old stable manure. 
They should be set two feet and a half each way 
in the beds, so that they will have plenty of light 
and air, and sufficient soil to nourish thera prop- 



238 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

erly. Do not plant Roses too near the roots of 
large trees, and be sure that the bed is well drained, 
for damp, soggy ground is the worst place to grow 
Roses. 

One of the newest and best of the Ever-blooming 
class is KiLLARNEY, a beautiful pink Rose with an 
unusually long and graceful bud, suggesting in 
shape forgotten Catherine Mermet. The pink is 
of a very delicate but fresh shade. This is an Irish 
Rose, and has become popular with florists who 
force it and use it instead of the long popular 
Bridesmaid, which is of a more solid pink. Kil- 
larney is a faithful bloomer, and the buds and flow- 
ers have so much character and beauty that three 
or four are all that is needed for a vase. This is 
a hybrid Tea rose of vigorous growth; but be- 
cause it is new it has been quite expensive. Three 
plants of Killarney, however, will give more pleas- 
ure and less disappointment than a dozen of almost 
any other sort. 

Mildred Grant; a white hybrid Tea Rose of 
large size, with curving, shell-like petals. A good 
Rose for cutting as the flowers are of much sub- 
stance and last a long time when gathered. In- 



EVER-BLOOMING ROSES AND VINES 239 

troduced by Dickson & Sons, and considered by 
them one of tlieir best Roses. The plant is quite 
vigourous and the growth strong. A Rose that 
will give much pleasure and satisfaction to the 
amateur, and is a good companion to Killarney, 
which it resembles in many respects. 

Kaiserin Augusta Victoria is a white Rose of 
very rampant growth, apt to bloom in clusters at 
the end of long branches; the buds are generally 
of a creamy tint, but the flowers expand into the 
most perfect forms, large and double, with an ex- 
quisite perfume. This is a splendid Rose for cut- 
ting, for the buds will open gradually in water and 
last for days. The Kaiserin is the best blooming 
of all the monthly Teas; from a bed of twenty-five 
a bunch may be picked every day from June until 
hard frost. This is the white Rose so much used 
by florists. 

Souvenir de President Carnot is rosy white 
in colour, with long, tight buds carried on long 
stems. A good bloomer. 

Maman Cochet ; large, double rose-coloured flow- 
ers; the buds well shaped; blooming profusely. 

Grace Darling, white with Peach-bloom shades; 



240 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

an exquisite Rose with a gracefully shaped bud; 
the flower large and full. One of the best ever- 
blooming Roses, as it really flowers continuously 
during the Summer, 

Clara Watson; salmon pink, with the pink in- 
tensified on the outer edges of the petals. A finely 
formed bud opening into a full, well-shaped flower 
of delicate construction and colouring. Very good 
for cutting as it keeps for a long time, and is a 
most persistent bloomer during the Summer, One 
of the best Teas for a Rose garden. 

La France; a Rose that was very popular a 
dozen years ago. Its flower is of a peculiar, silvery 
pink colour, and when the bud opens the outside 
petals fall over, leaving a bud-like heart. It has 
much character and is a good bloomer, but is both- 
ered by insects and the buds are apt to be mildewed 
unless the garden is situated in a very dry place. 
A good companion to Kaiserin Augusta. 

Clothilde Soupert (Polyantha) ; described in 
previous chapter; a most free-blooming, interest- 
ing variety. 

Gruss an Teplitz; a httle red Rose that 
blooms freely all Summer, but is borne on such 



EVER-BLOOMING ROSES AND VINES 243 

weak stems that it is quite worthless to cut; and 
it fades soon after placing in water. It is quite 
effective if planted in quantities as a bedding 
Rose, for its freedom of bloom can be relied upon 
to supply colour to the garden throughout the 
Summer. 

Bessie Brown; a white Rose, large and with a 
well-formed effective flower. A vigorous grower 
and blooms abundantly. This, like Killarney, is 
one of Dickson & Sons' Roses, and they are both 
desirable for the Rose garden. 

Following is an additional list of Monthly Roses 
that are not as sure blooming as those mentioned 
above ; but all will give much delight to the grower 
if he has room to use them. It is impossible to 
give a hst of Roses that are sure to succeed with 
everybody. Some will bloom bountifully for one 
person, and not at all for the next. The best way 
is to find out from experience what Roses will do 
well in your garden, and to make much of these. 
The soil, the location, the slight variation of 
climate or temperature, the exposure, all enter into 
consideration when cultivating this most fickle 
plant. 



244 common sense gardens * 

Teas and Hybrid Teas 
Antoine Ri voire; flesh coloured. 
Augustine Guinoisseau; white. 
Duchess of Albany; pink, sport of La France. 
Meteor; red. 
Baldwin; carmine. 
Admiral Dewey; pink. 
Belle Siebrecht; rich pink. 

Bourbons 

Apolline; pink. 

Champion of the World; Ught pink. 
Hermosa; rose. 
Mrs. De Graw; pink. 

Souvenir DE Malmaison ; blush white. One of 
the oldest Roses grown; vigorous. 

POLYANTHAS 

Mosella; white. 
Paquerette; white. 
Cecille Brunner; salmon. 

If you have a Rose garden, or a few Rose beds, 
there are many Remontant Roses that should be 
grown as well as the Ever-blooming varieties. 



EVER-BLOOMING ROSES AND VINES 245 

Nearly all of them are good, and some have partic- 
ular qualities to recommend them which the grower 
will not be slow to appreciate. Half the space at 
least should be given over to the Hardy Perpet- 
uals, for although their blooming season is com- 
paratively short it is an eventful one, and to many 
people these Roses are the crowning glory of June. 
To have a country place and not to be able to revel 
in Roses is very much like inheriting a fortune, 
and dying of starvation. The list that follows 
includes most of the perpetuals that are worth 
growing : 

Alfred Colsomb; crimson. 

Captain Hayward; crimson. 

Captain Christy; (Tea, but used as a perpetual 
as it only blooms once); pink and white. 

Clio; light rose pink. 

CoMPTESSE Cecille de Chabrillant; deep pink. 

Francois Levet; cherry-red. 

Francois Michelon; carmine. 

Gloire Lyonnaise (Hke a Tea Rose in form and 
perfume); yellowish white. 

Heinrich Schultheis; pinkish-rose. 



246 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Helen Keller; cherry-red. 

John Hopper; rose. 

Lady Helen Stewart; scarlet. 

La Reine; rose. 

Mabel Morrison; white, tinged with pink; 
odourless. 

S. M. RoDOCANACHi; light pink. 

Madame Gabriel Luizet; pink. 

Marchioness of Londonderry; white. 

Margaret Dickson; white. 

Marguerite de St. Amande; rose. 

Marshall P. Wilder; cherry-red. 

Mrs. R. G. Sharman Crawford; pink. 

OsKAR Cordel; carmine. 

Paul's Early Blush; light blush pink. 

Pierre Notting; maroon. 

Rev. Alan Cheales; lake. 

Vick's Caprice; pink. 

SoLEiL d'or; yellow. 

Frau Karl Druschki; whitest of all; a most 
exquisite Rose. 

Baroness Rothschild; pink; odourless. 

Mme. N. Levavasseur; Baby Crimson Rambler ; 
odourless. 



EVER-BLOOMING ROSES AND VINES 247 

Climbing Roses if they are well placed are a great 
addition to the grounds; but as they are just as 
susceptible to disease and to insects as the other 
Roses, and the positions in which they are used 
are generally conspicuous ones, they should be care- 
fully looked after or they will prove to be eye- 
sores rather than ornaments. Their inaccessibility 
makes them hard to reach with the spray and 
duster, and often they are allowed to take care 
of themselves, with the result that by the middle 
of June they look as if a sirocco of the desert had 
breathed upon them and withered them up. When 
trained against the walls of a building, or in the 
shelter of a porch, they seem to be more unhealthy 
than anywhere else; the larvae of the insects and 
their eggs are more effectively protected than the 
vines. If you have Roses on the house cut them 
back frequently, so that you can reach them with- 
out too much toil or trouble. 

Unless the garden is a large one it would be better 
not to have a Rose arbour in it; keep this for the 
Rose garden where it will look more appropriate . If 
your garden is fenced in, however, train a few Roses 
over the pickets; a Crimson Rambler perhaps, be- 



248 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

cause it is the fashion, but surely a Dorothy Per- 
kins, a hybrid Wichuriana bearing a double pink 
blossom of good size. It grows very rapidly and 
its foliage is tough and clean and of a dark green 
colour. Let the Rambler climb on one of the posts, 
and prune it so that it will make a good head; or 
train it over the arch at the entrance to the garden. 
On another post have a Dawson, a vigorous, 
climbing white Rose that is hard to restrain; lead 
it along the pickets of the fence and let it drop 
over on the other side, out of sight of the garden. 
Do not cover up the pickets entirely, for they have 
their place in the general plan and should not be 
hidden. If there are brick piers in the four corners 
of the garden put a Crimson Rambler on one and 
let it fall lightly over the hedge, or run along the 
top of it. On another put a Dorothy Perkins, 
and on a third you might train Baltimore Belle or 
Prairie Queen, very quick-growing Roses that were 
much used in the old gardens, and that bear Rose- 
coloured, or white double flowers of a rather old- 
fashioned mien. These were bred from the Prairie 
Rose {Rosa setegira) and are about the only Roses 
of American origin that we have, not very brilliant 




Dawson Rose on a Pear Tree. 



EVER-BLOOMING ROSES AND VINES 251 

examples to be sure, but valuable on account of 
their associations. They were introduced about 
the year 1830. They art v^ery hardy and vigorous 
and should be pruned into shape, or else they will 
sprawl over everything within reach in an awkward 
manner. 

A good place for a Crimson Rambler is in an old 
Cedar tree, where it will show to good advantage 
when in bloom and may be forgotten afterwards; 
there is nothing particularly beautiful in its habits. 
This Rose has been used so much that it is becom- 
ing tiresome. It is certainly very handsome when 
in flower, but the blossoms have no perfume, and 
its clusters have an artificial look like those made 
of linen which one sees in a woman's hat. Its 
lack of fragrance is a great drawback, for if we 
expect a thorn with every Rose we certainly expect 
a delightful perfume also. It is so gaudy that it 
is tropical in its effect, and if there are many 
Ramblers on a small place the grounds will look 
bare when the bloom has passed, just as the night 
seems darker after a flash of hghtning. It is too 
brilliant for the flower garden as it outshines the 
other flowers and casts a sickly glow over the more 



252 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

modest blooms. Grow it in the Rose garden if you 
will, or the kitchen garden, or somewhere that you 
will have to go around the corner to see it. The 
other Ramblers, Pink, White and Yellow, have 
never been so popular, probably because they have 
been dwarfed in brilhance by their more flashy 
sister, but they are less obtrusive and would be 
better to use in the garden. 

If you have a Rose arbour, either in the garden 
or Rose garden, construct it as lightly as possible 
and make it inconspicuous. The vines will look 
better if they appear to support themselves and 
to form the arch involuntarily. For the posts use 
two-by-threes, and turn the arches with boards 
seven-eighths of an inch in thickness, made as Hght 
otherwise as will be consistent with strength. The 
pieces that are nailed on the sides and across the 
arches should be of the thickness of laths, and no 
more of them should be used than will be necessary 
to hold up the vines. Paint tht posts green and 
the upper work white; or all white or all green if 
your taste will be better satisfied. Do not use 
Cedar poles and posts, or try to get a rustic effect, 
for that is most inconsistent. One does not find 



EVER-BLOOMING ROSES AND VINES 253 

Roses growing in the midst of a forest. Heavy 
pergolas with stone or brick columns, or in the 
Italian style, should not be used on small grounds 
or near a small garden; they detract from the in- 
terest of the Roses, and are clumsy and altogether 
inappropriate. 

Good Roses for the arbour are : Evergreen Gem, 
a cross between Wichuriana and Mme. Hoste; 
a very fast grower with tough, sweet-scented 
foliage that is quite free from insects, with a double 
yellow flower changing to white, and perfectly 
hardy; Jersey Beauty (Wichuriana and Perle de 
Jardins), a single yellow Rose of equal vigour, with 
thick, shiny foliage; and Gardenia, a plant ob- 
tained from the same cross, bearing a cream- 
coloured blossom whose petals incurve and resem- 
ble the Cape Jessamine. These Roses are of com- 
paratively recent introduction, but as far as I can 
find out they do not live up to their evergreen rep- 
utation, although they are very beautiful and 
doubly attractive on account of their healthy foli- 
age, which is of the greatest importance in work 
of this sort. 

Two Wichuriana Roses that may be added to 



254 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

the above list are Mancla's Triumph and Pink 
Roamer. 

Do not cover the Rose arbour entirely with 
Roses. At one end plant a Trumpet Vine, but 
be sure that it is Bignonia grandiflora not radi- 
cans. The latter is the quick-growing sort that 
bears a poorly shaped trumpet blossom of a rather 
deep red colour, and does not compare with grandi- 
flora whose bloom is borne in great graceful clus- 
ters, and is not only unusual in shape but of a 
most exquisite colour, orange-red, the ends of the 
trumpets orange. This vine comes into bloom in 
July shortly after the Roses are done blooming, 
and the flowers on the clusters open gradually; the 
bloom is continued profusely for three weeks. 
This is one of the most beautiful vines, and it may 
well be used on a pier or post in the flower garden, 
or trained over an arch. 

On alternate posts of the arbour plant Honey- 
suckle, the ordinary Honeysuckle that grows so 
rampantly and bears so well its sweet-scented 
flowers throughout the season. It is absolutely 
hardy and may be depended upon to flourish and 
bloom when everything else fails. It will not in- 



EVER-BLOOMING ROSES AND VINES • 257 

terfere with the Roses if kept in hand, for they may 
be trained over it and on it and through it, and 
it will make a good background for them. Its 
leaves, which are almost evergreen and disappear 
for not more than three months in the year, will 
furnish the arbour luxuriantly throughout the sea- 
son so that it will present an attractive appearance. 
Roses will come and blossom and depart but the 
Honeysuckles will go on forever, cheerful, sweet- 
scented, an eminently satisfactory possession. 

On a small arbour do not use more than one 
Crimson Rambler, the other Roses should have 
places; Baltimore Belle and the Wichurianas. 

The Clematis Paniculata should be used on a post 
or pillar. It dies down to the ground each year 
although sometimes a shoot will remain green 
through the Winter. Once started it grows rap- 
idly and provides a good green; the climax of the 
vine is in late August, a time when climaxes are 
rare in the garden, and the afterbloom is attractive 
in its light, feathery sprays that are agitated by 
the slightest air and tremble like gossamers. An- 
other Clematis that is good to train on the fence is 
Jackmanni; with a large purple blossom. It is a 



258 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

little hard to establish but it is no trouble after- 
wards. Plant this by the white fence of the flower 
garden, or so that it may be trained up one of the 
posts. 

Enghsh Ivy is rather delicate for this chmate and 
will do well only against the south side of a wall, 
or on the ground where it may be readily pro- 
tected in Winter. It is particularly effective against 
bricks. You may be able to find some variety of 
Ivy in the neighbourhood of your home, in some 
old yard or garden, some vine that has the char- 
acteristics of the English Ivy yet has become ac- 
climatized and is hardy. Get cuttings of this and 
use them on your brick wall. 

Do not use Boston Ivy {Ampelopsis Veitchi) in 
the country; it is a boulevardier among vines, and 
is at home only in the neighbourhood of asphalt 
and lamp-posts. 

Virginia Creeper (Ampelopsis Virginica) is one of 
the best vines with which to cover an old stone wall, 
or to use on stone work of any kind ; to grow over 
rocks and to cover the stumps of trees. It will 
turn brilliant red in September, on time to the 
minute each year, whether Jack Frost turns up or 



EVER-BLOOMING ROSES AND VINES 259 

not. One or two of these vines might be used on 
the garden fence. It may be transplanted with 
impunity from the woods any time of tlie year. 

The best vine for the house is Wistaria; purple 
and white. In time it will grow to be part of the 
house and its gnarled, tree-like trunk is most pic- 
turesque with its arms stretched about the walls 
in a loving embrace. Train it in the way that it 
should go, and keep it away from windows and 
doors. It is a good vine for the porch. The pur- 
ple is the better, for the white is too intense, too 
funereal, with its drooping clusters weeping with 
exactness from the canopy of leaves. This vine is 
a little too heavy for a small garden unless there 
should be an old wall in it, along which it might 
be trained with good effect. 

The best vines to use in the flower garden on 
piers, arches, posts or fences, are: 

Roses 

Dorothy Perkins Queen of the Prairies 

Dawson Baltimore Belle 

Evergreen Gem Gardenia 

Crimson Rambler 



260 common sense gardens ' 

Other Vines 

BiGNONiA Grandiflora Clematis Paniculata 
Virginia Creeper Clematis Jackmanni 

Common Honeysuckle 

Local variety of English Ivy on brick piers or 
wall. 

For the Rose Arbour 

Baltimore Belle Dawson 

Queen of the Prairies Wichuriana Hybrids 
Crimson Rambler Bignonia Grandiflora 

Honeysuckle 

For the House 

Wistarias Variety of English Ivy 

Roses grown as standards are of very formal ap- 
pearance and should be used only in large, formal 
arrangements. On small grounds they present a 
serio-comic appearance that is generally pathetic. 
They may be placed in the Rose garden, however, 
for there they will not be so conspicuous and their 
stiff ungracefulness will be neutralized by the other 
Roses. They are very disappointing and hard to 



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EVER-BLOOMING ROSES AND VINES 263 

grow, and they are quite expensive, so that all 
things considered the beginner would do well to 
forego the doubtful pleasure of seeing them in his 
garden. 

In England Roses are used for hedges; but in the 
northern parts of the United States they are rarely 
planted for this purpose. So-called hedges have 
been made of Crimson Rambler, but as its chief 
beauty is in blooming time and its appearance in 
other seasons is not tempting, few people have un- 
dertaken the task of raising it in this form. On 
some large estates where there is a skilled gardener 
it might be tried for a sensational effect. 

A very good hedge may be made of Rosa Rugosa, 
which might be planted along the path leading to 
the Rose garden ; in fact in such a position it would 
be very appropriate. It should be kept low and 
pruned carefully to encourage the bottom growth, 
for the chief beauty in a hedge is its wall-like effect, 
and unless this is obtained it is more or less of a 
failure. 

Roses look better with some sort of background, 
and the best setting for them is evergreen trees. 
In England Yew and Holly are used, and the Roses 



264 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

allowed to clamber up into the branches and fes- 
toon themselves against the dark foliage. In this 
country, Arbor Vitse, Hemlock and Spruce are the 
best trees for the purpose and they afford a good 
wind-break. It would be well to use Pin Oak in 
combination with them, and not to plant too many 
Norway Spruces as they are extremely heavy and 
coarse. Arbor Vitse occidentalis and pyramidalis 
will give the best effect. 

On page 261 there is a plan of a Rose garden. It 
is enclosed by a Privet hedge, and a ribbon parterre 
has been introduced into it for the sake of a little 
variety. This is formed by Box edging, although 
turf may be used instead. Turf is a bother to keep 
nicely trimmed and it will get shabby. The idea is 
to use the bed for bulbs in the Spring, — Hyacinths, 
or Narcissi or Tulips, — when a little colour in the 
Rose garden is not unwelcome. When these have 
ripened they should be removed and some flower- 
ing plants put in instead. Snapdragon is very good 
for this purpose as it blooms well through the Sum- 
mer and its foHage is graceful and a good green. 
If the idea of this ribbon bed is not fancied, a 
square or round one may be used in its place and 



EVER-BLOOMING ROSES AND VINES 265 

Roses planted in it; some small Rose like Clothilde 
Soupert or Gruss an Teplitz. The garden as 
planned has a terrace at each end; but these may 
be eliminated and the beds laid out on the same 
level as the main garden. The terraces should be 
planted with ever-blooming Roses. 



CHAPTER XIII 

FILLING IN WITH COLOUKS 



}^^'^^^'\ HE gardens of Eng- 
--^ I land, from which 

■ I the Colonial gar- 

^ ^L. dens of America 
drew their inspiration and 
character, were evolved 
gradually and not copied 
from any particular pattern or dominated 
by any well defined school. Those that 
were made in the seventeenth century 
embodied the principal features of Eng- 
lish media3val gardens, although the em- 
bellishments of statues and figures were 
borrowed from Italy. The traditions of 
garden making were indigenous to the 
island and the florid Italian style was only 
a passing influence. The Renaissance 
gardens of Italy were closely copied from 
the descriptions of the ancient writers, 

267 




268 COMMON SENSE GARDENS •" 

and in them the use of pleached trees and shrubs 
was carried to extremes, as it was in the time of 
Phny the Younger, when there was more excuse, 
for cultivated flowers were rare. 

In England, in the seventeenth century, gardens 
became more important than they had ever been 
before and enormous sums of money were expended 
on their design and upkeep. The Italian fad was 
overdone in many instances, as most fads are, and 
when finally it died many of the inappropriate in- 
novations were eradicated and only the most sub- 
stantial and worthy retained. These were the 
terraces, the balustrades, the flights of steps and 
the fantastically clipped trees, which in time be- 
came identified with features that were developed 
from the mediaeval closes, such as the walls, the 
marking out by definite boundaries, the green 
walks, the alleys, the covered paths and knottes 
of flowers, the labyrinths, the mazes, fountains, 
etc., that are familiar sights in the English gardens 
of to-day. 

The most striking thing about the Enghsh gar- 
den is its substantialness, its obliviousness to the 
march of Time. Fads of garden-making have come 



FILLING IN WITH COLOURS 269 

and gone, schools of designing have arisen, flour- 
ished and fallen, great masters of the art have 
become famous and been forgotten, yet gathering 
a little of the best from every influence and as- 
cendency it has grown and bloomed serenely, se- 
cure in the fastnesses of its own most excellent 
traditions. One generation has planted a walk 
with Yews; another has built in a stairway or a 
wall, and still another, moved by the magnificence 
and grandeur of Le Notre has diverted a river from 
its course and led it through a parterre of flowers to 
frolic in a fountain; and all these inspirations have 
been absorbed and blended into an harmonious 
whole to which Time has only added perfection. 

At one period the EngHsh garden was laid out 
on an enormous scale, often containing gardens 
within gardens; a park-like enclosure for flowers 
was considered necessary to uphold the dignity of 
a great house or castle. Although Le Notre is not 
known ever to have been in England, his teachings 
were for a time closely followed in the island across 
the channel; yet it is a fact, as Bloomfield* points 



* Reginald Bloomfield, M. A., F. S. A.: "The Formal Gar- 
den in England." 



270 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

out, that the formal garden of England did not 
need great space to be beautiful and effective. 
The lower garden of Haddon Hall is but a hundred 
and twenty feet square; the old walled-in garden 
at Brickwall, in Sussex, is two hundred feet by a 
hundred and sixty feet; the garden at Edzall Castle 
is but a hundred and seventy-five feet long by a 
hundred and thirty-five feet wide, and there is a 
beautiful garden at Stobhall, in Scotland, that 
covers only half an acre.- The beauty of these 
gardens lies in the way they are planted, in the 
character and colours of the flowers that are used. 
They are carefully planned and the arrangement is 
carried out under the supervision of the proprie- 
tors, who would as soon think of leaving such an 
important function wholly to the gardener as they 
would of entrusting the hanging of their Gains- 
boroughs and Lelys to the cook. The garden is 
considered to be one of the most important parts 
of the house, and it expresses the thoughts and 
sentiments of the master or mistress whose affec- 
tionate care and devotion are ungrudgingly lav- 
ished upon it. 

The best and most lasting effects that will not 



FILLING IN WITH COLOURS 273 

grow stale and become tiresome to the eye are 
generally obtained with comparatively few flowers. 
In England certain varieties are identified with 
certain gardens, and the traditions have been kept 
up for generations. Plants that do well in the 
natural soil and under normal climatic conditions 
are invariably chosen and developed to perfection. 
The natural temptation that comes to most gar- 
deners to plant every flower that has an attraction, 
or that is new and pleasing to the eye is restrained, 
and only those that have paramount attractions 
and the plainest meanings are encouraged to grow. 
In the garden at Brickwall the flower and colour 
effect is got with Daisies, Lavender, Phlox, Pop- 
pies, Sweet William, white Mallow and Rudbeckia, 
yet the beds are not only interesting but brilliant 
enough to satisfy the most enthusiastic colourist. 
An analysis of the flower border of the old walled 
kitchen garden at Blyborough reveals Hollyhocks, 
for which the garden has long been famous. Phlox, 
Summer Daisies and a variety of Michaelmas 
Daisy; a rather simple collection yet one that is 
satisfying and beautiful. The forms and colours 
are intelligently and carefully combined and much 



274 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

thought is given to their mixing. White LiUes, 
yellow Monkshood and delicate pink Phlox is the 
keynote of another garden; and purple and white 
Campanula of still another. At Ramscliff, Lark- 
spurs of various heights and shades with Campan- 
ula and Pyrethrum form one of the principal 
themes, superseded later on by Orange Lilies and 
Monkshood. This latter combination seems to be 
a favourite in English gardens where Monkshood 
grows better than it does here; its poisonous 
quality, however, is a drawback which many peo- 
ple will not overlook. At Kellie Castle, Holly- 
hocks and Poppies run riot, the rather poorly 
furnished stalks of Althea being hidden by the 
delicate flowers of its companions. At Cleeve 
Prior, Dahlias, Sunflowers and Autumn Daisies, 
with Lavender, Michaelmas Daisies and sweet 
Herbs form an attractive September group. In 
all these gardens hardy herbaceous plants form 
the basis of the planting. 

The English gardens are so well enclosed by 
hedges and screens and arches of Yew and Holly 
that the character of each flower and its colour 
is vividly brought out against their sombre yet 



FILLING IN WITH COLOURS 277 

sparkling background. The effect obtained is so 
satisfactory that if one pays any attention to the 
subject at all, the fact stands out prominently that a 
good background should be supplied for flowers if 
the best results are desired; a background of 
hedges, or brick walls, and a setting of trees that 
will form a frame, or second enclosure, and will 
serve the double duty of warding off or breaking 
the force of inhospitable winds. 

In the famous garden of Levens, in Westmore- 
land, which was laid out about the year 1700 by a 
Frenchman named Beaumont, in a Dutch style, and 
which has since become absorbed by its surround- 
ings and Anglicized, many strangely cut forms of 
Yew and Box that resemble chessmen, or the wide- 
petticoated figures of a Noah's ark were used to- 
gether with solid blocks of Yews with rounded roofs 
and mushroom finials, and arched recesses forming 
arbours. Miss Jekyl says that this effect might be 
supposed to be puerile, but that such is far from 
the case. The square-clipped trees offer facets to 
the light which plays upon them with infinite va- 
riety, and the weird, stiff forms accent and dif- 
ferentiate the many good hardy perennials with 



278 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

wliich the garden abounds. The borders in the 
Rose division are planted with white Pinks that 
make an attractive, feathery fringe for the deli- 
cately tinted Roses, a most excellent use for this 
charming and persistent httle plant. The garden 
at Arley is alcoved with the gracefully curved Yew 
buttresses of a massive Yew wall, that terminate 
in steeple-shaped finials. In these alcoves are 
planted Larkspur, white and Orange Lihes, Py- 
rethrum. Poppies and Snapdragon. 

A small garden should be so planted that every 
part of it will be interesting from the beginning of 
Spring until the first frosts of Autumn, and so con- 
stituted that when considered in its entirety it will 
present a well balanced and colourful appearance, 
showing no gaps in the greenery nor queer freaks 
of colour among the blooms. Every plant should 
have sufficient room to develop, and should be so 
placed that as it approaches the time of its ma- 
turity it will smoothly glide into its allotted position 
in the garden picture. The slowly developing foH- 
age of the late-blooming plants should be utihzed 
as a background for the earher varieties, so that 
one set of bloom may gradually take the place of 



FILLING IN WITH COLOURS 281 

another, and neither will be regretted among the 
kaleidoscopic changes of the months. As the flow- 
ers of the early, low-growing sorts fade and wither 
something must be ready to take up the burden of 
bloom; and the spent plant, if it has a tendency to 
shabbiness, should be screened and shielded by its 
nearest neighbours. Thus will the ground be hid- 
den from early May, and the symmetry and bal- 
ance of the garden, both in regard to colour and 
shape, be preserved throughout the season. The 
luxuriance and wildness of growth should become 
intensified day by day until the chmax is realized 
in a glorious abandon of Phlox and Lily and 
Dahlia, as August wanes. 

No colour schemes should be followed in a garden 
of this size, for they are delusive and unsatisfac- 
tory; and there should be no violent contrasts, no 
exotic shapes introduced with which to obtain bril- 
liant effects. A few flowers will supply all the 
colour and character that are needed, and will be 
inexpensive to establish; once started the care and 
labour required will be small. 

Although a flower garden should be given over 
in the main to flowers, it is a good plan to plant 



282 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

in it a few small trees or shrubs with which to 
break the monotony of the Winter bareness of the 
beds. Lilacs should be placed where you will see 
them every day, where their influence may be ex- 
erted and their companionship enjoyed. Two 
white Lilacs planted on opposite sides of the garden 
end will, in the course of a little time, grow into 
picturesque trees and become features of the en- 
closure. A Laburnum might be placed near a path 
over which it will bend gracefully and nod its yel- 
low clusters; it is a tree that has a great deal of 
garden character and colour. The Flowering Al- 
mond, pink or white, was found in the very oldest 
New England yards; it is a typical New England 
garden shrub that has associations with the early 
days of Massachusetts Colony and Providence 
Plantations. An Almond should be placed in a 
corner near a path, where the miniature blossoms 
may be seen and examined. It blooms early 
when there is very little colour in the garden and 
is always a welcome sight. A good specimen of 
Rosa Rugosa might also be placed in one of the 
beds, well in from the path, where its fresh green 
foliage will have a good chance to show off some of 



FILLING IN WITH COLOURS 285 

the other flowers; use the red variety and prune it 
back a Uttle to keep it in bloom. Rugosa blooms 
in early May when rose flowers are a rarity. One 
of the large bush Roses such as Mme. Plantier or 
York and Lancaster might be estabhshed in a 
sHghtly secluded corner, and room left to plant 
other things around it to hide its bloomless and 
very often shabby form later in the season. Tar- 
tarian Honeysuckle looks well in the garden, and 
it is almost evergreen. It is one of the character- 
istic shrubs of Westchester County (N. Y.) yards. 
In all not more than four or five specimens of 
trees and shrubs should be set out, and these 
merely for company's sake; their presence is not 
necessary to the success of the Summer garden. 

In the central bed, whether it be round or square, 
put an old Box if it is possible to obtain one ; if not, 
a nursery grown tree will have to do; but under 
no circumstances use a standard or one of pyra- 
midal form. Buxus sempervirens is the best variety 
for this position, but B. arborescens grows more 
rapidly and to a greater height, although it does 
not show as much real Box character or colour, 
nor is it strongly odoriferous. If a sundial is used. 



28G COMMON SENSE GARDENS • 

in this position instead of a Box, the bed should be 
turfed over, rounded up a Uttle and made into a 
sort of mound. Do not place a sundial in a flower 
bed, for the flowers will be trampled down and 
destroyed by people trying to reach it, and it will 
also have the appearance of a useless garden orna- 
ment, which should not find a place in a garden of 
this sort. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 

'UST inside the edg- 
ing of the principal 
beds of the flower 
garden, shown in 
plan on pages 364 
and 365, Narcissi of the 
following varieties should 
be estabhshed: 

Emperor 

BicoLOUR Empress 

Golden Spur 

Sir Watkin Von Sion 

Intersperse among the Narcissi a few 
Jonquils; they come into bloom a little 
earlier. Plant the large bulbs four 
inches apart, the small ones one; they 
will grow into each other in a year or so 
and form a permanent, supplementary 

287 




288 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

border. When the bulbs have ripened the leaves 
will begin to fade, and should then be cut off; but if 
removed earlier the bulbs will suffer. In the round 
bed use Narcissus poeticus and poeticus ornatus in 
the same way. The two are identical in shape and 
colour, but one variety comes into bloom much 
earlier than the other. In the Fall, when the gar- 
den has been cleaned up and all the transplanting 
done, plant in the main beds a few clumps of Ges- 
neriana. Blushing Bride and Bouton D'Or Tulips, 
which may be left like the Narcissi. These Tulips 
flower towards the end of May and are extremely 
beautiful, the immense cups being borne on very 
long stems. Gesneriana is rich red in colour, with 
a dark blue or purple base, and is the progenitor of 
all the May Flowering, or Cottage Garden Tulips. 
Blushing Bride is pink, shaded with white, and 
Bouton D'Or yellow. These Tulips and the Bi- 
zarres and Bybloems are really the only ones worth 
bothering about in the garden, and a few of them 
will give more pleasure than thousands of the 
double or early flowering sorts, which have to be 
renewed every year. 
The round bed and path compose the Court of 



THH BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 291 

Honour of the garden, and there should be placed 
some of the old-fashioned flowers or those that sen- 
timent and superstition have made endearing. At 
the four corners of the path that enter the Court 
Peonies should be planted. They are older than 
gardens and were the mainstay of many a blooming 
New England yard. And Roses; plant there the 
Cabbage and the Damask Roses, or the Musk Rose 
that exhales its perfume on the evening air. Cin- 
namon and June Roses are good garlands for the 
Court of Honour. Peonies and Roses should not be 
far separated in the new garden, for in the old they 
went hand in hand, blooming fragrantly in June. 
The old double Peonies are the best, the rose-red, 
the pink or white. Not that the new Japanese single 
and semi-double varieties are not beautiful; they 
are, but somehow they do not look like the Peonies 
one has been used to for so long. Peonies should 
be moved in the Fall and you must not expect 
much from the following Spring's bloom, if it comes 
at all. They can be established and will bloom in 
the shade. The foliage is very clean and free from 
insects and blight, and aside from all sentiment the 
Peony is a refreshing ornament to the garden. 



292 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

In the Court of Honour Bleeding Heart (Dicentra 
dielytra) should be given a prominent position, for 
although it is not so very old the gardens of our 
daddies knew it. It is the Chinese for Dutchman's 
Breeches, the little plant that carpets the woods in 
May with which we are all familiar; it was intro- 
duced into English gardens in 1846 and spread 
rapidly. Here Violets may be planted (Viola odor- 
ata), or cheerful clumps of Pansies; and Lady Slip- 
per, Marigold, Lemon Verbena and Rose Gera- 
nium. It is a good place, too, for Snowdrops, 
Scilla, Dog Tooth Molet and Forget-me-not, which 
may be placed on the garden side of the circular 
path and will not interfere with the general plant- 
ing. 

Around the Box in the circular bed establish 
Larkspur, which will be well shown against the 
dark green foliage. The rest of the bed may be 
given over to Pansies and White Lily (Lilium 
candidum) . The matted foliage and bright flowers 
of the Heartsease will make a good carpet for the 
long-stemmed Lilies; and if the bloom is kept well 
picked it will last into late Summer. A few clumps 
of white and pink Phlox should also be placed in 



THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 295 

this bed to keep it in colour until frost. Pinch 
back the Phlox so that it will be late coming into 
flower. In this bed a few annuals may be intro- 
duced later in the season to take the place of the 
waning blooms : Zinnias or Marigolds or Stocks. 

Below are given the most important hardy her- 
baceous plants and bulbs, and their best colours for 
use in the garden, with descriptions of each and 
suggestions for cultivating and planting. 

For the benefit of greedy and insatiable garden- 
ers another list of perennials, and some good an- 
nuals, may be found in the following chapter. 

Peonies; pink, white, rose-red. 

German Iris; purple and deep yellow or golden. 

Japanese Iris; all the colours are desirable. 

Digitalis (Foxglove); purple, white. 

DiANTHUs Barbatus (Sweet Williavi); single, 
double and auricula flowered; all colours. 

Delphinium (Larkspur); formosum, elatum, 
English hybrids. 

Hollyhock ; single and semi-double ; all colours. 

Phlox; all colours but purple-red. 

Dahlias; show and cactus. 



296 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Lilies; L. candidum, L. Philadelphicum ; L. 
umbellatum; L. Canadense; L. tigrinum L. au- 
ratum. 

Campanula {Canierbunj Bell); rotimdi folia; 
pyramidalis. 

Hemerocallls [Day Lily); ftava; fulva. 

Funkia; Grandiflora; G. alba. 

German Iris blooms in May, a full month earlier 
than the Japanese, and although the range of colour 
is not very varied, the plant is valuable on account 
of its hardiness, the peculiar light grey-green of its 
large, strong leaves, and the character of the blos- 
som which is very much like the Flower de Luce 
of the gardens past and gone. Get good clumps 
of this Flag in the nursery, and in a year or so you 
will be able to divide them with a sharp spade and 
replant them. The bulbs are most hardy, immor- 
tal would be a good name for them, and will grow 
almost on top of the ground; in fact it is the habit 
of a clump to force itself up and cleave asunder, 
so that it has the appearance of being split open and 
hollow in the middle; for this reason it should 
be frequently divided and reset. The growth 




German Iris in the Garden. 



THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 299 

starts very early in the Spring, and in the warm 
spells of Midwinter the shoots will begin growing. 
The roots may be moved at any time of the year 
without the slightest risk. Plant German Iris in 
clumps along the edges of the beds, alternating it 
with Japanese Iris; or a border might be made 
along both sides of a path for ten or twelve feet 
or so, say one of the paths leading from the Circus. 
The best colours are Florentina, white and early; 
Chereau, white; Pallida Speciosa, lavender; Au- 
ralia, purple ; Vesta, deep yellow with maroon falls. 
The flower is quite stocky and less ethereal than 
most Flags. This plant will flourish in any soil 
and is one of the very few that will bloom in the op- 
pressive grime and soot of the London atmosphere. 
Whatever beauty the German Iris possesses fades 
into pale insignificance beside the stately Iris of 
Japan {Iris Kaempferi) . The self-coloured flowers 
of this Flag are like Orchids, more beautiful than 
Orchids for they lack the painted, artificial appear- 
ance of the most familiar air plants. They are 
borne on long stems reaching, under good condi- 
tions, the height of five feet or more, and blossom 
the last week in June or the first week in July. 



300 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

All the varieties, except the mottled and double 
ones, are good and the colours range through many 
shades of blue to plum colour, purple and white. 
These Flags flourish in almost any soil, but should 
be well drained, except in the growing season when 
a large amount of moisture will increase the size 
and brilUance of the flowers; in fact much wetting 
is necessary for a month before they come into 
bloom. The best clump that I ever saw was lo- 
cated in the kitchen garden, a httle downhill from 
the tap which was frequently opened in a dry June, 
and the ov-erflow or waste was continuafly wetting 
and cooling the roots, yet did not settle around 
them as the inchne of the ground carried it off. 
The flower stalks were over five and a half feet 
high, and the flowers nearly nine inches across. 
An ideal place for this Iris is on the banks of a 
pond, or the edge of damp, swampy land where it 
may cool its toes in the water yet not be inces- 
santly soaked. It needs sun and warmth and will 
not do well in the shade. Plant clumps of Iris 
Kaempferi at intervals of seven feet along the paths 
in the garden, and even in the narrow bed by the 
hedge where you will have to irrigate them fre- 



THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 301 

quently, but where they will be worth the trouble. 
When this Iris is in bloom the garden presents the 
most fairy-like picture. The beautiful dehcate 
flowers are borne so high and turn so lightly from 



wf^tA 



^ li 



-?:■•:■• i^ 



White Japan Iris 

the slender stems that they seem to rise from the 
sheaves of drooping leaves like coloured bubbles; 
the effect in the moonhght is mystical. When the 
scene is set for Kaempferi's appearance the Phlox 
clumps are about two feet high and the ground is 
quite hidden by them and the Funkias and Hemer- 



302 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

ocallis; Foxglove and Sweet William are just past 
their climaxes; the Nasturtium is resting from the 
first efforts of blooming, and its hght-green stems 
are beginning to trail over the dark-green hedge; 
there is a slight slackening of all bloom when the 
beautiful Flags have the centre of the stage. The 
other plants are a little awed; there is not much 
to distract one's attention from the entrance of the 
leading ladies. Softly they unfold into flower, one 
by one; first the white, then the purple, then the 
blue, until the mise en scene is complete. They 
disappear just as gradually, just as softly, and the 
lance-like leaves quiver in the faint Summer zephyrs 
as their beautiful offspring fade and wither and fall. 
The C'Urtain is only down a moment, to be raised 
on the fast quickening glories of Rudbeckia and 
Phlox. If I were going on a journey in the Sum- 
mer time, to the fairest, freshest, coolest land under 
the sun, I would postpone my setting out until 
after Iris Kaempjeri had bloomed. Never plant 
these beautiful flowers in masses; they are not only 
too magnificent in colour and form for such a pur- 
pose, but in a small garden the bed would be un- 
interesting for most of the Summer. They should 



THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 303 

be near the path where one may enjoy their inti- 
macy. Japanese Iris does not bloom freely the first 
year after transplanting, and should be moved in 
October. 

Foxglove and Sweet William are frequently 
used together. Foxglove is not really a perennial 
but it generally sows itself and so is considered as 
one. You should not depend upon this, but sow 
seed in June in the kitchen garden, and transplant 
some of the seedlings in the Fall to the flower garden 
and some to a cold frame, where you can winter 
them and bring them along early in the Spring. 
When you set them out in the garden the plants 
will be large and vigorous and will bloom early. 
You might have a border of Sweet Wilham in the 
kitchen garden where it will perpetuate itself with- 
out any worry on your part, and draft plants from 
it to the flower garden each Spring. If you do not 
wish to do this sow seed in drills in July, and trans- 
plant to beds in the kitchen garden the end of 
September, where they may be covered up for the 
Winter. Foxglove does well in the shade, but it 
may be planted in the sun with equal success. Do 
not use any of the fancy colours, the old purple 



304 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

and the white are the best. The colour range of 
Sweet Wilham is wide; the dark reds are particu- 
larly fine and there are whites, pinks and a general 
variety. 

Larkspur is a favourite in Enghsh gardens; it 
is used in combination with many plants, such as 
Lilies, White Daisies and Yellow Pyrethrum, Monks- 
hood, Snapdragon and Phlox. It is also grown in 
clumps among the pleached trees, or against a Yew 
hedge where perhaps it is more effective than any- 
where else. In the common sense garden it might 
be grown in front of a brick retaining wall, using 
elatum, formosum and some of the brilliant English 
hybrids; with Campanula rotundijolia and pyram- 
idalis in front and Lilium candidum, L. superbum, 
L. umhellatum, L. tigrinum scattered through the 
bed; or in bunches against Rosa Rugosa or Box, 
as in the round bed. It is raised from seed in July 
and it is safer to winter it over in the cold frame, 
although it will grow in the open ground if the 
young plants are well top-dressed. The improved 
English Delphiniums grown from seeds of Kelway's 
named sorts are exquisite, and should be in every 
collection. 



THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 305 

The single and semi-double Hollyhocks are 
easily grown from seed, and blossom the second 
season. They should be planted in clumps of 
from five to seven, and used through the main beds 
of the garden, among the Phlox, etc., for the tall 
flower spikes will rise above the other plants and the 
lower parts of the stalks, which are apt to become 
bare about blooming time, will be hidden. Save 
the seeds of the best colours, for they will be more 
reliable than any that you buy. I never could see 
any attraction in the Allegheny Hollyhock with its 
tight, ungraceful rosettes; it does not compare, 
either in form or colour, to the single. Hollyhocks 
look well in clumps of two or three in a row in 
front of a brick or stone wall; or large clumps at 
the bottom of a flight of steps. If your plants are 
bothered by red spiders spray the under side of the 
leaves with soapy water, and continue the spraying 
during hot weather. If the blight affects anj^ of 
your plants they should be destroyed; but to pre- 
vent it spray the plants as soon as they begin to 
grow in the Spring with water in which soap and 
flowers of sulphur have been dissolved. Trans- 
plant Hollyhocks to the garden very early in the 



306 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

season on a rainy day; and if the sun should come 
out strong it would be better to protect them. 

Phlox is one of the most useful as well as the 
most beautiful of hardy plants. It has many qual- 
ities to recommend it besides its hardiness; it is 
easy to grow from seed; it multipHes rapidly; its 
growth is rampant and it is free from most insects 
and blights. All these qualities are crowned by its 
free blooming proclivities and the length of its 
flowering season. In the old gardens of the last 
century two colours were to be found, white and 
the homely purple-red which so detracts from the 
beauty of other blossoms; but of late years new 
colours of the softest yet most dazzling brilhancy 
have been introduced by growers who have made 
this plant their specialty. It is found in many 
shades of pink and light lavender; white, and white 
with a red eye or a pink eye ; red, scarlet, crimson, 
carmine. Large clumps of Phlox give brilliancy 
and colour to the garden from early July until Oc- 
tober, an effect and brilliancy that can be obtained 
with no other plant. Some of the new shades have 
an exasperating way of ''throwing back" to the 
original purple-red, and these flowers should be 




Phlox aiwj Funkia. 



THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 309 

plucked and the plant labelled to take out in the 
Fall, for purple-red puts the whole garden out of 
tune. Although the blooming time of Phlox is long 
it may be lengthened by pinching back a few flower 
heads in each clump, and gathering some of the 
stalks when they have come into bloom. Blotches 
of different shades may be scattered through the 
garden. The colours of Phlox may be laid on with 
a lavish hantl, for by the time the blooms appear 
there is not much else to clash with them. Plant 
many clumps of the white variety, Pearl, which is 
late and does not flower until the vigour of the 
pinks and reds has been spent; then it settles over 
the garden like a mantle of snow, suggesting cool- 
ness when the heat of August is at its height. Be- 
sides being scattered through the garden beds, 
clumps of Phlox should be placed along the paths 
between the Iris and Roses, to carry the colour 
through the enclosure. 

Phlox is increased readily by dividing the roots, 
and this is better than raising it from seed as the 
colour of seedlings is uncertain. Large clumps 
should be broken up or their brilhancy will fade 
and very often revert to the original colour. Every 



310 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Fall the Phlox in the garden should be thoroughly 
overhauled and the purple clumps removed and 
new stock of good shades added. The variety, Miss 
Lingard, should not be used with the other Phloxes 
as it is much earlier and its character quite differ- 
ent. The following hst includes the colours with 
which the best results can be had: 

Athis; salmon; very tall. 

Bacchante; crimson, carmine eye; dwarf. 

Beranger; rosy white. 

Coquelicot; orange-scarlet. 

Comet; rich crimson. 

Eugene Danzanvilliers; light lilac, white eye. 

Henry Murger; pure white, rose centre; dwarf. 

H. 0. Niger; pure white, crimson eye. 

La Vague; pink, red eye. 

Inspector Eipel; pink, red eye. 

Miss Cook; white, pink eye; early. 

Moliere; salmon-rose. 

Mrs. Dunbar; white, rose eye. 

Defiance; bright red. 

Margaret Slack; bright pink. 

Pantheon; salmon. 

Sunshine; salmon pink, rose eye. 



THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 311 

Caron D'Ache; cherry-red. 

Rosalie; white, blush centre. 

Springdale; deep pink. 

Pearl; pure white; very late. 

Boule de Feu; bright red, dark-red centre. 

Jeanne d 'Arc; white; late. 

Bridesmaid; white, crimson centre. 

Matador; orange-scarlet. 

When buying Dahlias be sure to get good, 
sound, field-grown roots, and not seedlings. Mice 
seem to have a particular liking for these plants 
and it is hard to bring up seedUngs in the garden. 
You will have to use your judgment in planting 
Dahlias; put them where there is good space and 
distribute them in different parts of the beds to 
take the place of Hollyhocks and Delphiniums. 
Some of the Show Dahhas are very free blooming, 
much freer than the Cactus, and are useful for 
cutting. Plant a few of each sort in early June, but 
keep most of them back until about the first of 
July. The bloom will not be needed, and Dahhas 
do better and bear more flowers if started late in 
the season. Disbud them freely, for the strength 
of the stalk should go into only two or three flowers 



312 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

on each stem; and cut away some of the lower 
branches so the growth of the upper ones will not 
be stunted. Dahlias need a great deal of water, 
and if the season is dry the hose should be freely 
requisitioned. Saturate the ground thoroughly, 
for the bulbs drink greedily ; and spray the foliage. 
Lily bulbs should be planted at the end of Oc- 
tober or the first of November, except candidum, 
which should be put in the ground about the fif- 
teenth of September as it makes a growth in the 
Fall. This Lily is somewhat fickle; it will do well 
in one garden under certain conditions, and very 
poorly in another where the soil, location and 
treatment are exactly the same. L. superhum, 
L. Canadense, L. candiduvi need not be planted at 
a greater depth than equals three times the height 
of the bulb, as they root only from their bases; but 
L. Philadelphicum, L. umbellatum, L. tigrinum, L. 
speciosum, L. auratum, L. longifiorum should be 
planted at least six inches deep, as they root also 
from the stems. Lilies begin to sprout very early 
in the Spring and may be injured by the late frosts 
if some protection is not given; they should be 
placed where the foliage of other plants will shelter 



THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 315 

them. Lilies seem to do better in the shade, al- 
though many authorities differ on this subject. In 
England they are planted in the neighbourhood of 
trees and large shrubs, and it would be better to 
establish them in some part of the garden that is 
out of the sun for the better part of the day, under 
a high-branching tree or in the shadow of a shrub 
or some thick-growing plants. Cover the bulbs 
with a good top-dressing and remove it carefully in 
the Spring so the tender shoots will not be broken. 
The bulbs should not come into contact with ma- 
nure, and should be fertilized from the surface with 
a rich mulch that must be kept soaked in dry 
weather. It is safer to set them in a handful of 
sand so that drainage will be provided, for Lily 
bulbs are very dehcate and susceptible to rot, es- 
pecially those that are constructed of scales. To 
keep down the mice, scatter ''rat biskit" hberally 
on the surface of the bed among the young plants, 
for mice are very fond of the succulent green shoots. 
To afford shelter for Lilies and to provide a good 
base of foliage for the long stems, Funkias may be 
planted in the bed near them. Funkia grandiflora 
alba, which bears a sweet-scented white blossom, 



316 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

flowers in August and carries its broad, rich foliage 
unblighted until the end of Summer. Funkia 
grandiflora has the same foliage, with a blue flower 
that blossoms at the same time as alba, but is 
carried on a much longer stem. There is another 
Funkia, caerulea, that comes into flower the first 
of July, but it is not desirable to use with Lilies as 
the leaves turn rusty, and mildew as soon as the 
bloom is past. 

Lilium candidum, is most effective grown in 
clumps, with Funkias or Japanese Iris around the 
outside of the clump. Group it in the main beds 
near a path; or if you have a good location with 
a tall hedge for a background it will be well shown 
off against it. The bulbs should be divided and 
reset every three years, and the best time to do 
this is just after the flowers have faded and not 
when the leaves and stalks begin to turn yellow 
later on. Lilium Philadelphicum is a lower grow- 
ing Lily of a reddish colour that should be planted 
in the shade of some other plants, overhanging the 
edging. It blooms early and does not last very 
long, but it is hardy and easy to grow. 

Lilium auratum, the large, showy Lily of Japan 



THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 317 

seems to be very hard to bring into bloom success- 
fully, but it makes such a grand exhibition that a 
few of the large-sized bulbs should be planted every 
year. Grow this Lily in clumps of three or four set 
rather formally around the circular path in the 
Court of Honour. The bulbs are very delicate and 
deteriorate quickly, so that only a very small propor- 
tion succeed. The best plan is to plant Auratums 
in pots in the Fall, and winter them in the cold 
frame, setting them out in the garden the end of 
May or the first of June. A dozen of these plants 
will give you flowers for eight or ten weeks^ and 
they are as interesting in their way as the Japan- 
ese Iris. It is impossible to establish this Lily in 
the garden, for a clump will grow beautifully less 
for a year or so and then disappear. Good bulbs 
are expensive, but there is nothing to equal them 
in the Lily world. 

Lilium umhellatum is very effective grown in 
front of tall Larkspurs or among Campanula 
jpyramidalis or rotundifolia. It is used extensively 
in English gardens and is combined with Monks- 
hood, although one is pretty sure to find Delphin- 
iums in its neighbourhood. Plant clumps of Um- 



318 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

hellatum well in from the paths but do not have 
too much of it. 

Lilium longiflorum is the white Japanese Lily that 
is better known under the name of Easter or Ber- 
muda, It is perfectly hardy, but if you use can- 
didum you might omit longiflorum, as you should 
not have too many white Lilies in the garden, 
Lilium speciosum var. Melpomene is a beautiful 
pink Lily that is easily grown. It blooms later than 
longiflorum and is good to succeed it, if you are 
particularly fond of Lilies, Plant two clumps in 
corners by the hedge, as it will look better with such 
a background and needs the shelter. Lilium Can- 
adense is the yellowish Canadian Lily that belongs 
to the Martagon or Turncap family. The petals 
are the least turned back of any in the group, and 
the flowers are borne in clusters on the ends of 
gracefully drooping stems. It is perfectly hardy 
and may easily be established, but it is not as 
showy as the Lilies that have been described above. 

Lilium tigrinum is the familiar Tiger Lily in- 
troduced from China over a hundred years ago. 
It blooms later than any of the Lilies, except some 
of the late Auratums, and is the chief attraction of 



THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 321 

the cottage yards in New York and New England 
in August and September, with its turned caps of 
orange-red, and black spots and stems. It is per- 
fectly hardy and can be established without any 
trouble whatever. It is good to have in the garden 
on account of the lateness of its bloom, and should 
be planted amid Hemerocallis fulva and fiava to 
hide the bareness of these plants when their flowers 
have past and their foliage is inclined to shabbiness. 

Funkia grandiflora, and G. alba, are splendid 
in clumps at intervals of ten feet or so, or as a 
border along a hedgeless path leading to the garden 
or the kitchen garden. The foliage is a refreshing 
green all Summer and they bloom at a time when 
flowers are particularly desirable and interesting. 

Campanula should be sown in early Spring in the 
cold frame and transplanted to another frame to 
winter. The variety rotundifolia may be used 
along the edges of the paths between the Roses and 
Iris or planted in front of C. pyramidalis which 
grows to a greater height and is very showy. Py- 
ramidalis is good combined with Lilies, and a few 
clumps may be planted in the large beds among 
the Phloxes. 



322 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Hemerocallis flava is the lemon Day Lily which 
blooms profusely in Jmie and should be planted 
in clumps at the corners of the beds or the foot 
of a flight of steps. Hemerocallis fulva is the 
orange Day Lily, a rampant grower, with larger and 
less attractive flowers than flava. Plant it in 
the large beds, two or four clumps balancing each 
other; its bloom is borne on long stems well above 
the other plants. It spreads very rapidly and 
should be kept from reaching out into the clumps 
of Phlox, Foxglove, etc., for a httle of it goes a long 
way, 

Ruclbeckia, or Golden Glow, is not included in 
the above list for it is not necessary to use it, and 
it is of such weed-Hke growth that it is apt to 
spread over everything. Small clusters of it may 
be distributed through the Phlox in the large beds, 
but place them where the lower part of the stalks 
will be hidden, for the old leaves generally wither. 
It should be kept low by pinching off the leaf 
crowns, and although the individual flowers will 
not be improved by this method you will get the 
colour, which is afl you need, and the plants will not 
grow to such a height that they will be broken off 



THE BEST PERENNIALS FOR THE GARDEN 323 

and ruined by the wind, for although you may 
stake them it is impossible to keep the long stalks 
in a natural position, and staking should be avoided 
as much as possible. Keep Rudbeckia down to the 
height of five feet. 

If you have to use stakes in the garden have 
them as small as possible, and painted green. The 
Dahhas will have to be staked, and the Larkspurs 
and Campanula pyramidalis probably; and some 
of the Phlox will grow so rampantly that it will 
need support. When you have made up your mind 
to do any staking, do not delay the operation any 
longer than necessary. 



CHAPTER XV 

NATURALIZING 




N page 139 is the 
picture of an old 
Georgian mansion 
in Virginia. The 
field in the foreground, 
which is many acres in ex- 
tent, has been thickly nat- 
uralized with Jonquils and Narcissi. 
Standing by the sundial in early Spring 
a sea of gold lies spread out at one's feet, 
a hving sea that melts away into the 
young green of the neighbouring woods. 
When the wind blows the sea is ruffled 
and furrowed by the most graceful bil- 
lows, and the faint water-lily scent of the 
flowers is borne in on the fresh Spring 
air, mingled with the odour of newly- 
turned turf and the smoke from the neigh- 
bouring cabins. The sight of a field of 

325 



326 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Daffodils played upon by the wind is one never to be 
forgotten. The most tender symphony is produced 
without sound, as the tops and stems sway mu- 
sically to the varying whims and inspirations of 
the breeze, bending now this way, now that, or 
fluttering uncertainly for a moment before renew- 
ing their rhythmic undulations. A faint accom- 
panying murmur of the breeze from the budding 
trees adds to the almost imperceptible melody. 

Narcissi are much more enjoyable and more 
beautiful when growing through the grass of a 
field than planted primly along the borders of 
the garden, where, to be sure, they are useful and 
mildly effective for a httle colour, but where they 
present an ultra-formal appearance and suggest the 
backyards of a city where they can be grown 
equally well. Some spot may be found surely on 
a small place where they may be naturahzed, — on 
the edge of the lawn, in a clearing in a grove; or 
where the garden ends and the long, natural grass 
of a meadow begins ; on a bank or terrace or grassy 
knoll. If planted in the rough grass the bulbs 
ripen before the scythe has to be employed and 
they do not interfere with a crop of hay. They 



NATURALIZING 329 

grow and multiply, especially in deep, loamy soils 
where there is a good deal of moisture in the Spring 
of the year. A very successful bed was naturaHzed 
by the author between the lawn and a thick clump 
of wild trees. A band of the bulbs about four and 
a half feet wide was planted, following the outline 
of the woodlet, which was composed of Oaks and 
Elms. The ground fell off a little toward the trees 
so the rain to a certain extent was carried away, 
but the soil was deep leaf-mould that had never 
been disturbed and is always quite damp except 
for a few weeks in Midsummer. The bed was a 
hundred and fifty feet long and was carried in a 
graceful line around a large rock about which a 
clump of old Cedars twined their gnarled roots, until 
it was lost to sight in the wild growth of a little 
glade. Emperor, Empress, Von Sion, Sir Watkin 
and Barri Conspicuus were used, and the different 
shades of yellow, primrose and orange-red, and the 
chfferent characters of the heads of bloom added 
great interest and beauty to the effect. The bulbs 
were planted close together so that there was a 
dazzling and solid band of colour, and when they 
faded their places were taken by Cranesbill (wild 



330 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Geranium) which was supported by a background 
of Ferns that had begun to stray out of the dark 
depths of the woods towards the warmer shadows 
of the lawn. 

The cheapest Narcissi to use are the medium 
trumpet varieties that may be obtained in mixture 
from a doHar and fifteen cents to a dollar and a 
half a hundred. But the gratification that one ex- 
periences from planting some of the named varieties 
of marked characteristics and colours is out of all 
proportion to the extra expenditure. The best 
Narcissi are: 

Barri Conspicuus; primrose, stained orange 
scarlet. 

BicoLOR Empress; white perianth, yellow trum- 
pet. 

Empress; very large; rich golden yellow. 

Golden Spur; large yellow trumpet, deep yel- 
low petals. 

Incomparabilis Cynosure; sulphur petals and 
cup, stained with deep orange-red. 

Sir Watkin (Welsh Chahce Flower); very large; 
sulphur cup, orange petals. 

Princeps (Irish Daffodil) ; primrose and yellow. 



NATURALIZING 333 

Single Yellow JoNQuiii, Campernelle Jon- 
quil, Narcissus Poeticus (the little white, starry 
flower with a pheasant's eye) can be established 
easily and increase very rapidly. Poeticus should 
be planted in a dry place, however, or it will not 
blossom. The best place to naturahze it is on a 
little knoll on the edge of a lawn or grove of trees, 
where it is well shown off. Poeticus ornatus is an 
improved Poeticus that blooms early, the first of 
May; the old variety blooms the last of the same 
month, the last of the Narcissi to appear. Jonquils 
niay be naturahzed in the half long grass, or in 
the company of Poeticus which it precedes in bloom 
by several weeks. All the Narcissi grow well in the 
shade. The small bulbs can be planted with a 
dibble, a sharp, pistol-shaped instrument with 
which holes are bored in the ground. The trowel 
will have to be used for the larger bulbs, to scoop 
out a cylinder of turf. 

The white, sweet-scented, double Narcissus whose 
flower is something Hke a Gardenia, is worthless 
out of doors. One authority says that it must be 
planted in a dry position if you wish it to bloom; 
another, that it will not do well without moisture. 



334 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

My experience has been that no matter where it is 
planted the bud will shrivel up just when it seems 
about to burst into flower. It is most fickle and 
it does not pay to bother with it. 

The Gesneriana Tulip can be naturahzed suc- 
cessfully, and should be placed in clumps along the 
edge of a bank or near shrubbery, where it is not 
too dry. The flower is a beautiful red in colour 
and is borne on a long, straight stem. It is very 
decorative when cut. Like the Cottage Garden 
Tulips, Gesneriana is rather too formal and Dutch 
looking when used in rows in the garden. 

Crocuses are not of much value in the garden. 
They are very early, but that is their chief claim 
to favour. When they first appear our eyes have 
been flower-starved for so long that we welcome 
them with much pleasure and talk about their ad- 
vent at the breakfast table. Crocuses should be 
placed in the lawn, or on the edge of the meadow, 
and will have to be renewed about every two or 
three years. One sometimes sees Crocuses bloom- 
ing through a late snow, and when they are dis- 
covered in such a plight the effect is quite startling. 

Columbine is found in a natural state in poor 



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NATURALIZING 337 

soil, growing on rocks in the partly cleared woods, 
where it is shady. The native variety, red and 
yellow in colour, Aquilegea Canadensis, should be 
naturalized on rocky knolls on the edge of the lawn 
or in the woods. 

LiLiuM LoNGiFLORUM naturalized in a glade 
near water, or where the sound of water may be 
heard, with ferns for companions, looks better than 
anywhere else. The lilies, except candidiwi, like 
shade and if you have no wood in which to estab- 
lish them place a clump near some shrubs or by a 
group of trees. 

The Cypripediums are Orchids and are the most 
beautiful of our wild flowers. C. spectabile, or 
Showy Lady Slipper, grows to the height of two 
feet and bears a rose-white flower. It can be grown 
in moist leaf-mould well shaded, and is beautiful 
naturalized in a damp wood. C. piibescens, Yellow 
Lady Slipper, and C. candidum, White, require the 
same treatment. C. acaule, or Moccasin Flower, 
should be planted where it will be well drained. 
The plant throws up two broad leaves from the 
base, and from between them grows a stalk a foot 
high that bears a purple-rose flower. 



338 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Foxglove is easy to naturalize and is very effec- 
tive grown in the woods or along woodland paths. 
I have had plants grow in the shadiest part of an 
Oak grove, from seed sifting through the garden 
sweepings that had been thrown there. Foxgloves 
sow themselves and increase rapidly, and can be so 
easily moved that clumps of them may be trans- 
planted to any position desired. White is the most 
effective colour in the wood, and white with Glox- 
inia-like spots, which add greatly to the odd form 
of the flower. White and purple may be combined 
in groups, and as the purple grows to a greater 
height and forms strong, erect spikes, it is the best 
to use for the centre of the clumps. Foxglove is 
not only easy but cheap to naturalize, and the ef- 
fect obtained with it is most striking as it is not 
particularly familiar in such connection and is one 
of the comparatively few plants that can be suc- 
cessfully grown and bloomed in the shade. Trans- 
plant Foxgloves in early Spring, and sow every sea- 
son to keep a supply coming. 

Many wild flowers may be grown on the edge of 
the lawn, and where there is a field in sight of the 
garden or yard it may be made attractive with 




Foxgloves along a Woodland Path. 



NATURALIZING 341 

some of our native plants. The line between the 
semi-formal garden and the wild garden of fields 
and woods should not be too sharply drawn. One 
should melt gracefully into the other, like the 
minghng of the fountain's overflow with the 
brook. If your grounds possess any good natural 
features, such as a wood or glade, or knolls or rocks, 
let them alone; do not try to civilize them too 
much or decorate them with exotic plants and 
flowers. 

Following is a list of hardy herbaceous plants 
that are of secondary importance in the garden on 
account of their medium size and less striking char- 
acteristics. They may be planted along the bor- 
ders of the paths or in some place that has not filled 
out accorcUng to your expectations. 

Aquilegia, or Columbine. One of the most sat- 
isfactory varieties to grow is ccprulea, the Rocky 
Mountain Blue Columbine. It is one of the easiest 
to raise and is perfectly hardy and persistent. 
Height, three feet. Glandulosa vera bears innumer- 
able flowers of large size. Plant the seed in the 
Spring and transplant when three inches high. 



342 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Transplant again in the P^all to permanent position. 
It will bloom the second season. 

Coreopsis, grandiflora. Plant in the Spring and 
combine a nmnber of seedUngs into a clump which 
may be set out in the garden in early Fall. It will 
make quite a bush, but the yellow flowers should 
be kept well picked off if continuance of bloom is 
to be expected. Moves easily any time if taken 
up with a good ball. 

Campanula. Besides the varieties pyramidalis 
and rotundijolia the Medium Rose and White are 
good. These are biennials, blooming the second 
year and then dying down. Seed should be planted 
every Spring if you wish to keep a supply on hand. 
The Medium is the true Canterbury Bell and blooms 
in June and July. A good perennial Campanula 
is perscecifolia grandiflora and p. g. alba, blue and 
white respectively, with large flowers blooming in 
June and July. The Campanulas stay in blossom 
for some time and are altogether one of the 
most satisfactory perennials. Plant seed in the 
Spring and estabhsh the plants in the garden in 
the Fall, covering them up well "with top-dressing. 
Unless the plants are well grown it is safer to win- 




Trumpet Narcissus. 



NA'l'llUAM/JN(i ;M5 

tor thoin in iho cold frniiic. ('jirpalJiijiii TTju'cIx'II 

(Omnpanuld, cdrpalicd) is m, smaJI j;t;u'('I"iiI hcll- 
flowor of V(U'y nltnic.iivd form ;i,ii(l liiihif. C. /m//- 
/V/'.s, f". I itrhi 11.(1,1(1 ;u\(\ C. puim'Jd, aw. jiJso worMiy of 
;l |)I.'U'(i in ih(\ hordcr if fliers is I'oom. Vov (Jic 
l)(\s(, |)('ll-fl()W('i' i'D\h'.\,, 1iow('V(M', a. ixrsd'.cijolid 
(/rd'tulijlord. dJIxi, T'. pj/rdiniddJis ;ui(l ('. Dicdiviii. 
'MV (Jul l)(is(, to use. Tlic Iwo fonncf hlooin iiiifil 
((iiil'' l;i,l(' ill the Siiiiiiiicr, Ixif Mcdiimi, which is a, 
hiciiiii.'U, is over hy flic cud of June. 

(Jood perennial (I<)I(,nI''L()WI';i{S a,re iiidcroccpliald 
;ui(l cdndidi^Kinid. Will do well in aJinosf a.iiy 
soil a,ii(l if sf;irf(Ml e.iirly will llower flie (irsi, 

S(%'l,SOII. 

A very <>;oo(! |)ereiiiiia,l (,lia,f ^-rows (^'isily a,nd 
blooms (^'ll•ly in fli(^ spring' is M voso'i'is, or V\)\'\i(i\[,- 
me-iiof. If likes it (U)ol, moisf soil a,nd if i-i<;ii(Jy 
.situated will bloom aJI Siiminer. 'TIk^ bloom should 
be ke))t W(;ll })iek(Ml off. if may Im; started in Au- 
gust to bloom the lu^xt Spr'irif!; and mM,y be set out 
with I'a,nsi(!S in the border aJonfj; th(^ path. CJood 
va,rieties a,r(^ (dpcdri^, dJ/x'.slris robusla, (p-dndijlord, 
(ilpcKlris Viclorid. 

JJiAN'riius Ueddewifjii, .)a,|)an Fink, is a, most 



346 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

attractive little flower of many colours, that blooms 
profusely and continues to bloom for some time if 
the flowers are well plucked. There is not much 
place for Pinks in the flower garden, unless along 
some border, but they are good in the kitchen gar- 
den. Dianthus plumarius is the old-fashioned May 
Pink, sweet scented, that might be placed in the 
Court of Honour. Grow them in Summer and 
transplant to the garden in early Spring. 

Snapdragon, antirrhinum is a very attractive 
perennial but a tender one; the colours are soft 
and of a good variety; the foliage a dark green 
and of extremely graceful habit. It will blossom 
the first year if sown early; but the best way is 
to sow it in July and winter the plants in the cold 
frame for they will not live in the open ground. 
They should be sown every year. If this plant is 
given good care and well fertihzed the flower stalks 
and flowers will grow to an enormous size. It is 
very effective to cut as the graceful stalks droop 
over prettily in a vase or bowl. New York florists 
recognize its decorative qualities and force it for 
early Spring sale. 

Pyrethrums are much used in Enghsh gardens 




Poet's Narcissus 



NATURALIZING 349 

in combination with Campanulas, Delphiniums and 
so forth, and make a good foreground for such 
plants. They grow much more luxuriantly in Eng- 
land however than they do with us, and it would 
not be well to rely too much upon their cooperation 
for effects in the common sense garden. Plant 
them in front of Canterbury Bells, or Larkspur, and 
the yellow Pyrethrums make a good foreground for 
White Lilies. They need much moisture and should 
be kept well watered, and in dry seasons mulched 
with manure. The single varieties are like Daisies 
in form, but come in many colours such as crimson, 
pink, white and yellow ; and the single varieties are 
the best ones for a small garden. The double va- 
rieties are more like Chrysanthemums, and as they 
bloom in June their form seems a little bit incon- 
gruous and affected in a modest enclosure. Cer- 
tain seedsmen of England have much improved 
Pyrethrums of late years and it is to them that we 
owe the large range of colour. The best colours 
to use for a small garden in combination with Lilies 
or Campanula or Delphinium are yellow and white. 
The flowers are borne most profusely in June, and 
if the bushes are well cut down just as the bloom 



350 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

begins to wane a good second crop will appear in 
the early Autumn. 

Lavender, a grey-green shrub-like plant, prob- 
ably has more tradition and sentiment connected 
with it than any other flower. It thrives in Eng- 
land in light, warm soils. It is apparently difficult 
to raise from seed, so that it is better to procure 
plants from the nurseryman which may be in- 
creased by division. Protection should be given 
them in Winter in this climate, and they should be 
planted in a very warm, sunny position, on the 
slope of a bank or terrace. There is a white- 
flowered variety that is just as sweet as the blue 
and blossoms at the same time, so that if the two 
are combined the clump will be more interesting. 

The best place to plant seeds is in a cold frame; 
not that the protection of the glass is necessary, 
but in a frame the seed bed is protected and the 
young seedlings are kept safe. The amount of 
moisture may be regulated, which is an important 
thing, and heavy rains that are so often disastrous 
to seeds in the open ground may be kept off. Sow 
the seeds in drills and transplant when two inches 
high to another frame. To keep off cats and dogs 




Perennials bordering an old Path. 



NATURALIZING 353 

and chickens a lattice of laths may be made and 
laid over the top of the frame. 

It is a good thing to have some annuals, not only 
to use for cutting but also for filling out the flower 
garden when something happens to the established 
clumps, as something very often will in the best 
regulated gardens. 

Zinnias are good, as they bloom until frost and 
the plants grow into bushes of attractive form. 
Crimson and white and flesh pink are the best 
colours. 

Balsam, or Lady Slipper, is one of the easiest 
grown annuals. If transplanted several times the 
plants will grow bushy and develop into miniature 
trees covered with Camellia-like bloom. The dou- 
ble white, carmine, lavender, rose, in fact all the 
colours are good. The Balsams cannot be used for 
cutting but they are an attractive old flower that 
it will pay to cultivate. 

Calendulas and Marigolds should be grown 
for the purpose of filling up. The tall-growing 
Marigolds if kept cut back will develop into bushy 
plants and may be moved any time if a little care 
is taken. Choose a rainy day, and if the sun should 



354 COMMON SENSE GARDENS • 

come out very strong cover them over with an 
awning of some sort. 

Pansies should be started in July, and if early- 
flowering plants are wanted they should be win- 
tered in a frame. Otherwise they may be win- 
tered in the open ground if a good covering of litter 
and straw is given. Set them firmly and deeply 
in the ground. If Pansies are placed in partial 
shade and kept well picked off they will bloom all 
Summer. One of the most attractive strains is 
Trimardean Giant; the plants are vigorous and 
the flowers borne on long stems; colours dehcate, 
blotched and shaded, with many clarets, browns, 
and blues of alluring shades. 

Gladioli, the familiar Summer-flowering bulbs 
may be easily grown, either in the kitchen garden 
for cutting or for stately specimens of bloom in the 
flower garden. No place has been assigned to them 
in the plan of planting as their location will have 
to be left to the judgment of the proprietor, who 
may best use them for filling in bare spots that un- 
expectedly appear. Gladioli should be planted in 
succession from the middle of May to the tenth 
of July. For the flower garden use Lemoines, 




A good Opportunity for Naturalizin^t 



NATURALIZING 357 

Chilclsii and Groff' s Hybrids, but for the cutting 
bed any of the ordinary mixtures that cost from a 
dollar and a quarter to a dollar and a half a hun- 
dred will do, and they will be found to be much 
surer than the fancy strains and altogether satis- 
factory, although they do not produce such large 
and showy spikes of bloom. The bulbs should be 
taken up in the Fall and stored in a dry cellar 
where the temperature will not go below thirty-five 
degrees. 

Cosmos should be kept out of the garden. 
Blooms very late and is generally caught by frost. 

Nasturtiums; tall growing to train over the 
hedge. Nasturtiums should be planted where they 
are to be used as they are badly checked when 
transplanted. 

Petunias; double varieties of different colours. 

Poppies; Shirley; double varieties; Mephisto; 
Maid of the Mist. 

Stocks; Ten Weeks and late flowering sorts; 
rather uncertain about coming into bloom. 

Wall Flower ; Paris is a single annual with the 
peculiarly sweet Wallflower scent; easy to grow 
and attractive along the path. 



35iS COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Sunflower; single Russian; double Globe Flow- 
ered. 

The design for jjlanting the flower garden shown 
in this chapter is shuple and easily carried out. 
The material for the enclosure should first be de- 
cided upon, and if the garden is on a lawn a hedge 
should be used. Pickets, or a brick wall with 
pickets, are better where the space is uneven and 
closely surrounded by trees, for if built on a 
level, open lawn they stand out a little too con- 
spicuously. 

The paths should be dug out to a depth of two 
or two and a half feet and filled in with stone. 
Made thus, they act as bhnd drains and carry off 
the superfluous water from the flower beds. The 
last three or four inches of stone should be broken 
up into small pieces and well packed. If bricks 
are used for the paths they should be set in a bed 
of sand three inches deep at least and well ham- 
mered down. An English brickmason is the best 
man to lay such paths; he will understand their 
construction perfectly. The best bond to use is 
herringbone, the way the l^]nglish walks are laid. 

The next best thing to brick is white gravel, 







Iris on the Edge of the Lawn. 



NATURALIZING 



361 



the kind that is used on tarred roofs. For this 
gravel make a bed of one and a half inches of 
clay on top of the stone filling and roll the first 
dressing well in. Finish off with two inches of a 
smaller size and keep it loosened up with an iron 



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^^^^^^m^^oH^^H^vM'^ "«« /vTsHyflH^^^^I^I 





Lavender. 

rake. Paths made of white gravel are a good fin- 
ish for the garden, not quite as good, as brick for 
the colour does not combine so well with the flow- 
ers, but much better than bluestone which is poor 
stuff; the colour is bad and its associations com- 
monplace. The coarse is painful to walk on, and 
the fine screenings dirty and sticky after a rain. 



362 COMMON SIONSIO (JAUDIONS 

l>()l,li l)rick und while j^thvcI nvc .'ilways dry ovon 
iiiinicdijitdly .'iftcr iJic, hardest showc^r, and <;'rav('l 
parlicMilarly is so ch^aii thai it d()(!S not ,s(mI Uio 
most ddlicaio ^owii with which it (tomc^s in con- 
iact. C^-avol hcav.o.wcaI Io any size; can bo ob- 
tainod on Lonji; Island at about the same co.st as 
bhicstonc, or traprock. 

Ill a c-oniinon s(!ns(; {i;ard(Mi th(!r(i is not niu(th 
room for ornanKUits. hWc.w a H.os(; p(!r<2;ola should 
bo kopt out of it if it is small, say undc^r sixty by 
thirty focit. If your licai't is sot on havin<i;' an ai'- 
boiu', (!onsti'U(^t on(! in some, other pai't of I Ik; 
grounds and k^t it form tln^ basis of a lioso <i;ard(^n. 
A sundial is r(!ally Ix^ttc^r plao(Ml on a li'.vriu-o or 
in an al(U)vo off tlu- path that loads to th(^ fi;ai'do,ii. 
It may bo sol, in tlio middle of the path if there; 
is room, but do not j)laoo it in a flow(!r IkmI. A 
sundial arran^cid with a backfi;rourid of Lilies is vfu-y 
ol'fo(',tiv(^ Tho round bed in the (•,v,]]l]v, of tho 
(yoiu't of llonoiu' is ;ui appropr'iatc; place, but I 
should rather sec; an old I'ox tr'oo there. At k^ast 
try a Box, and if you jire not satisfied with its ap- 
p(!aranco you can r(;|)lac(! it with a su!idial. If a 
sundial is set on a raised bed of tiu-f, naturalize 




V ;t- 






Hemlock oi- Pfn/er Heoc 



E] S H] S d 



Brick otGra 







3 I 



B 



HI ^IZI ^ ^ [3 



1^ [£]>4Z1^ S ^ [H 





fl I ^ A* /< 






Q S 







4 


A 


Delphinium 


K Phlox 




B 


Foxglove 


L Lilies (Tiger) 




D 


Sweet William 


V White Lilac 




E 


Lilies (White) 


W Laburnum 



H Lilies (Orange) 



Plan of Planting the 

1 Campanula marca 

2 Campanula mediu 

3 Campanula Pyram 

4 Japanese Iris 

5 German Iris 



feat fiigh 

S E 



Walk 




a B B ID B 

LOWER Garden 

a 7 Nasturtium 

8 Peony 

lis 9 Hemerocallis Flava ]4 Hollyhocks 

10 Hemerocallis Fulva \5 Dahlias 

11 Funkia Alba 16 Rudbeckia 



12 Flowering Almond 

13 Caly can thus 




NATURALIZING 367 

Narcissi around the base and grow Crocuses and 
Narcissi through the turf of the bed. 

There should be a seat in the garden at the end 
of a path near a hedge. Do not use rustic or Itahan 
stone seats. Very good and simple garden benches 
are made in England, and I know of nothing better 
for a small garden than one of these. Several of 
these benches are pictured on page 371. Your 
carpenter could build one, but there are nurserymen 
who have the working designs and make a specialty 
of constructing them at a reasonable price. They 
should be painted white or green. 

Do not place vases or pots or tubs of flowers in 
the garden or near it. Palms and other exotics 
that are used in the house in Winter should be sum- 
mered in some secluded spot; you will enjoy them 
all the more when they come home. Hanging 
baskets too, are obsolete decorations and should be 
sent to the bourne from which nothing ever re- 
turns, along with the iron stag and bronzed Indian. 



CHAPTER XVI 

A SMALL WATER GARDEN 




I 



F there is room on the 
place for a Water Gar- 
den the cultivation 
of Water Lilies and 
water plants of various 
sorts will be found to be 
not only interesting, but 
also a most delightful diversion. If there 
is a brook or small pond in the neighbour- 
hood of the garden that can be utiUzed, so 
much the better, but even if a pool has 
to be constructed the cost may be kept 
within bounds, and a small expanse of 
water will serve to exploit many rare 
and beautiful blooms, and to make per- 
manent at the garden side many attrac- 
tive forms of plant life that otherwise you 
would have to wander far afield to enjoy. 
A small Water Garden is a good adjunct 

369 



370 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

to the garden proper, or to the Rose Garden, if 
they can be combined without too much apparent 
effort. 

The plan given in this chapter was drawn for 
a continuation of a flower garden, and the beds 
numbered 15 are planted with Peonies, Hollyhocks 
and Phlox as a link to the garden. If the Water 
Garden stands by itself and has no definite connec- 
tion with the rest of the planting, this part of the 
plan may be modified and be made to conform to 
the opposite side of the pool by planting beds num- 
bered 15 like those numbered 13, with Lilies, Flags 
and Funkias. If it is not desirable to keep beds 
numbered 13 and 14 in herbaceous plants un- 
trimmed hedges may be planted in their place, and 
that part of bed numbered 15 that borders the ap- 
proach should be included in this new plan. For 
these hedges use Lilac, Althea, Privet, Red Twigged 
Dogwood and Golden Willow, which latter will 
have to be cut back rather vigourously every year 
to keep it in line with the other shrubs. As a back- 
ground for the Water Garden use White Willow, 
Weeping Willow and Hemlock Spruce, and under- 
neath them plant Rhododendron album elegans, and 



.9 




c^^^:^^ 



Garden Seats 



A SMALL WATER GARDEN 373 

Rhododendron album grandijiorum, varieties that do 
exceedingly well in damp situations and whose 
white blossoms are most effective with the fohage 
of the Hemlock and Willow. 

The pots and boxes marked 11 in the plan may 
be done away with, and good round specimens of 
Privet used in their stead. Plant beds numbered 
12 with Lilies, Flags and Funkias. Lihes seem 
particularly happy near water, especially White 
Lilies like candidum, s'peciosum and longiflorum; 
or the beautiful pink speciosum melpomone. They 
make a most appropriate setting for a pool; the 
white and blue Funkias will shelter the LiUes and 
make a good carpet for their long stems. In these 
beds alternate clumps of German and Japanese 
Iris, placing them near the borders two and a half 
or three feet apart. In beds numbered 13 and 15 
use Iris in the same way, and in the centre of each 
bed a specimen of Forsythia viridissima, Rosa Ru- 
gosa, or Privet might be placed as a background 
against which to show off White Lilies and Aura- 
tum Lihes. Fill in these beds with Ferns which 
are beautiful in the Water Garden and very effec- 
tive with Lilies; they afford the same shelter that 



374 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

Funkias supply, protecting the tender shoots from 
the winds and the strong sunhght. The Gossamer 
Fern {Dicksonia punctilohula) grows from one to 
one and a half feet high and is good for massing in 
sunlight or partial shade ; it will thrive in either dry 
or moist soils if good drainage is provided. The 
Ostrich Fern {Onoclea struthiopteris) grows four feet 
high and has beautiful palm-like fronds; use it as 
a background for the smaller Ferns and Lilies. It 
is easy to grow but should be well fertilized and 
the clumps placed two feet and a half apart. The 
Flowering Fern {Osmunda regalis) does well in 
moist soils in either sun or shade, and can be grown 
partially submerged in water on the edges of ponds 
or streams. The clumps should be planted three 
feet apart. Maidenhair Fern {Adiantum pedatum), 
is easily cultivated if deep shade is given and good 
drainage provided. Plant it along the borders of 
the beds one foot apart. 

Construct the tank or pool of concrete, making 
the sides and bottom about six inches thick. The 
coping may be made of cement too, instead of 
marble which is quite expensive, but have it eight 
or ten inches wide and do not let it rise much above 





Garden Seats 



A SMALL WATER GARDEN 377 

the surface of the ground; the lower it is the better 
the effect will be. The urns and the fountain that 
are in the plan may be omitted, and for the latter 
a small inconspicuous pipe substituted to provide 
water for the basin. In place of stone benches 
EngUsh garden seats might be used with just as 
good results, but seats of some sort you should have 
as you will use them continually. Around the cop- 
ing a turf border may be laid instead of the bed of 
Aegopodium in the plan (No. 10). Make the turf 
border one and one-half feet wide and plant it with 
clumps of Japanese Iris, Iris sibirica and Flower- 
ing Fern, naturalizing Narcissi between the clumps. 
The border should be confined by a brick coping, 
the ends of the bricks being embedded and pro- 
truding two inches above the level of the path. 

On the curved side of the pool build a shelf ten 
inches wide with a side four inches high, and place 
it so that it will be four or five inches below the 
surface of the water. This shelf is 4, 5, 6, 7 in the 
plan and should be planted with (4 and 6) Parrot's 
Feather, (5) Water Poppy, and (7) Bulrush. Also 
make shelves for the two angles (8) and plant them 
under water with the Cat-tail Flag {Typha lati- 



378 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

folia). The shelf numbered 9 is for Cyperus alter- 
nijolia, a graceful flowering Sedge with bright green 
foliage. The plants established on these shelves 
are those whose natural habitat is the shallow water 
on the shores of ponds, and planted in this way 
they appear to be growing from the bottom of the 
pool. They make an excellent border for the basin 
and furnish it luxuriantly. 

The Water Lilies marked 1, 2, 3 on the plan 
should be planted in slat-sided boxes in good rich 
loam, and placed on the bottom of the pool three 
feet below the surface. No. 1 is Nympheamarliacea 
chromatella, a Marliac hybrid, a large, yellow, fra- 
grant Lily that blooms continuously through the 
Summer. It is hardy, and may be left in the pool 
from year to year if the water is not drawn off in 
the Winter. No. 2, Nymphea Zanziharensis is not 
hardy and should be taken up in the Fall and 
stored in some warm, damp place until Spring. It 
is hardly worth while to go to so much trouble for 
one plant, however, and it would be better to pro- 
cure a new specimen each year, for warm, damp 
places are hard to find. This Lily is worth buying 
anew each season, for it blooms freely and bears a 




1 'yi'i*yv.."}y\-at/i£io.<A,,ia, Cfy/\.,eryu.c!4ik£^a. 



Plan of Plant ill 



f I 







r-~ 



/ 




J€crv(n<. 6-t-^, -1^.12- 



\ 



'^fCsxAfi^ crt«), "U«,J2, 









^fVi«A«t/w i<J. 1906 



Water Garden 



A SMALL WATER GARDEN 383 

beautiful, very large, deep purple flower. Nymphea 
tuberosa Richardsoni is an American Lily with large 
double flowers. 

The above named Water Lilies were chosen for 
their blooming qualities, as they flower abundantly 
all the season, for in a small pool continuous bloom 
is absolutely necessary. The well known Pond 
Lily is almost as beautiful as any, and has the 
sweetest perfume, but it will not make any show 
in a small garden as it is a shy bloomer of medium 
growth. And it is so with many other Lihes that 
would be satisfactory in a pond or good-sized nat- 
ural pool or backwater, but that would prove ex- 
asperating in a garden basin. 

If the pool is three feet deep as it should be, the 
water may be left in it all Winter if the top is 
boarded over and covered with a few inches of 
leaves or straw. Then most of the plants may be 
left undisturbed from year to year. The goldfish, 
with which every pool should be plentifully pro- 
vided, may be left for the Winter too, and this will 
save a lot of trouble and care. The fish will be use- 
ful in keeping down the ''wrigglers" and are a 
source of much pleasure besides.. Toads will come 



384 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

down to your waterside in armies to breed, but the 
spawn which is readily discerned floating on the 
surface of the water may easily be removed with 
a little scoop net made of fine gauze; and toads 
should really be encouraged as they destroy millions 
of undesirable insects. 

In Summer, except in very dry periods, the rain 
will provide all the fresh water that is needed, and 
rain-water is much better than water from the tap. 
If the latter is supplied too freely in hot weather 
a very undesirable water-plant that much resem- 
bles noxious green scum will spring up quickly and 
prove a nuisance. 

List of Water Lilies for Ponds, Tanks and Tubs: 

Nymphea pygmaea; Asiatic white Water Lily; 
can be grown in a few inches of water; small, 
not free blooming. 

N. Helvola; yellow; small; the best Water Lily 
for a tub. 

N. alba candidissima; of the finest form; re- 
quires a great deal of room and a depth of water 
of five or six feet. 



A SMALL WATER GARDEN 385 

N. alba rosea; pale rosy pink; the earliest to 
flower, ceasing early. 

N. Gladstoniana, pure white; broad petals; one 
of the best. 

N. odorata; American white Water Lily; me- 
dium growth. 

N. odorata rubra; Cape Cod variety; pink; 
small; not a free bloomer. 

Hybrids 

N. marliacea Candida; very large; white; flower 
seven to ten inches in diameter. 

A^. marliacea rosea; decided pink tinge; flowers 
of good form. 

N. marliacea fiammea; highly coloured; very 
fine. 

A^. marliacea rubra-punctata; very large; colour 
carmine. 

The foregoing hybrids are of vigourous growth 
and are better in deep water, from three and a half 
to eight feet. 

The following are suited to shallow pools, tanks 
or tubs: 



386 COMMON SENSE GARDENS 

A''. Laydekeri rosea; pule rose, gi'owinj^ darker 
with age; early flowering; difficult to propagate. 

A''. Laydekeri lilacina; flowers tinged with lilac. 

A^. Laydekeri fidgens; darker than lilacina, with 
quite large flowers. 

A^. Lo.ydekeri prolifera; free flowering; pink. 

N. odorata rosacea; very pale pink; free flower- 
ing. 

A^. odorata sulphnrea grandiflora; pale yellow; 
flowers carrietl well out of the water; foliage mot- 
tled; petals long, narrow and tapering. 

A^. Robinsoni; red with a tinge of yellow; a 
good grower. 

A^. gloriosa; carmine; finest of all the hybrids. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Adiantum pedaUim, 374 
^^gopodium (Goat- weed), 377 
Agapanthus (African Lily), 

380 
Alexandria, Va., 11 
Alpine Rose, 225 
Altar, of Box, 34 
Althea, 151 
Ampelopsis Veitchi, 258; Vir- 

ginica, 258 
Anne de Diesbach Rose, 228 
Annuals, list of, 353 
Antirrhinum, cultivation of, 

346 
Apollinaris, 37 
Aquilegea, cultivation of, 341 ; 

varieties of, 341 
Araby, 33 
Arbor Vita?, 123 
Arbour, in place of pergola, 

51 
Arbour Roses, 253 
Architects, 16; garden, 77 
Architecture, style of, 21, 25 
Arley, garden at, 278 
Arlington, 30, 51 
Auratum Lilies, in the water 

garden, 373 

Background, for flowers, 277; 

for Roses, 263 
Balsam, best colours, 353 



Baltimore Belle Rose, 248 

Banksia Rose, 218 

Bay, 34 

Bessie Brown Rose, 243 

Beech Tree, 93 

Bignonia grandiflora; radi- 
cans, 254 

Black Rose, 226 

Blanche Moreau, Moss Rose, 
217 

Bleeding Heart, 292 

Blyborough, garden at, 273 

Bourbon Roses, list of, 
244 

Box, clipped and ornamental, 
34; abundance of, 37; asso- 
ciation of, 37, 39; modern, 
115; shape of, 115; weird 
forms of, 277 

Box Edging, 62; transplant- 
ing and cultivating, 65; 
choice of, 65; necessity of 
fertilizing, 66; with manure 
water, 66; trimming, 67; 
second growth, 67 

Box Hedges, 68; where to 
place them, 68 

Brick, Long Island, Hudson 
Valley, 175 

Brick Steps, 175 

Brick Walls, 174; construc- 
tion, 176; foundation for, 
389 



390 



INDEX 



177; with fences, 174, 176; 

retaining, 179 
Brickwall, garden at, 270; 

flower eftect at, 273 
Burgundy Rose, 226 
Burnet-leaved Rose, 226 
Buttonball Tree, 96 
Buxus sempervirens, 65, 115, 

116; var. arborescens, 116, 

285 

Cabbage Rose, 214, 291 

California Privet, 153 

CabjcantMis Floridus, 152 

Camden, S. C, 19 

Caps, post, 185; brick, 175 

Charleston, S. C, 16 

Chippendale, 19; 

Chestnut, 94 

Cinnamon Rose, 225 

Circus, 37 

Clara Watson Rose, 240 

Cleeve Prior, 274 

Clematis paniculata; Jack- 
manni, 257 

Climax, garden, 281 

Climbing Roses, 247; train- 
ing, 247 

Clothilde Soupert Rose, 228 

Common sense garden, 21 ; 
atmosphere of, 61 

Colour Schemes, 281 

Colours, filling in with, 22 

Conventionality, avoidance 
of, 74 

Cottage garden. New Eng- 
land, 21 

Common Moss Rose, 217 

Coquette des Blanche Rose, 
227 



Court of Honour, 291, 362 
Columbine, 341 ; cultivation 

of, 341 
Coreopsis, cultivation of, 342 
Cornflower, varieties of, 345 
Cold frames, best place to 

start seeds, 350 
Cosmos, 357 

Crocuses, naturalizing, 334 
Crested Moss Rose. 217 
Cratrpgiis, 142; crtis-galli, 145 
Crimson Boursault Rose, 225 
Crimson Rambler Rose, 

where to place it, 248, 251 
Cultivation of Roses, 230, 

231, 233 
Cypripediums, naturalizing, 

337 
Cyperus alternifolins, 378 

Damask Rose, 225, 291 

Dawson Rose, 248 

Dahlias, 295; cultivation of; 

location in garden, 311 
Decoration, obsolete, 367 
Deutzia crenata, 152 
Delphiniums, 295 
Dianthus harbatus, 295; Hed- 

dewigii, 345 
Dicentra dielytra, 292 
Digitalis, 295 
Dog Rose, 226 
Dogwood, white flowering 

native, 138; red twigged, 

370 
Dormant Roses, 230 
Dorothy Per]:ins Rose, 248 

Edgings, Box, 29, 33; fertili- 
zation of, 62 



INDEX 



391 



Effects, bizarre, in gardens, 

61 
Eglantine, 222 
Elm Tree, 87 
Elms, 8 

Elizabeth, time of, 7 
Entail, tradition of, 12 
Enclosure, garden, 43 
Europe, 34 
Evergreens, shading with, 44; 

planting of, 97, 98, 99; at 

Arlington, 98 

Fad, 16 

Fairy Rose, 226 

Ferns, in the water garden, 

374; best varieties to use, 

374 
Fence, picket, 189 
Fences, gas-pipe, 165; wire, 

166; picket, 185; colonial, 

185 
Finials, 186 
Flowering Almond, 152 
Flowering Fern, 374 
Flowers, planting of, 22, 29, 

273-277 
Formality, 21 ; of gardens, 24 
Formal gardens, in America, 

11 
Formal effects, 40 
Foxglove, 295; cultivation of, 

303; naturalizing, 338 
Forget-me-not, 345 
Forecourt, at Mt. Vernon, 30 
Forsythia, 147; in a water 

garden, 373 
Freakishness, in a garden, 47 
Freedom, of planting, 21 
Furnishing, the garden, 74 



Garland Rose, 226 

Garth, 40 

Gate, hand, 180 

Gateways, arched, 186, 189 

Garden, front yard, 7; Eng- 
lish of to-day, 22; French, 
25; German, 25; Italian, 
25; miniature, 43; planting 
of, 26; sunken, 47; com- 
mon sense, 21, 40; size of, 
58; characteristics of Eng- 
hsh, 268 

Garden architects, 73; use of, 
74 

Garden-making, sentiments 
of, 16; art of, 56; failures 
of, 77; revival of, 119 

Garden-planting, art of, 56 

Gardening, joys of, 22 

Gardener, 25, 26; chief, 37; 
landscape, 40 

Gardeners, school of land- 
scape, 47 

Garden-house, 58 

Gardens, old, 19, 55; notable, 
19; appropriate, 21; Ameri- 
can, 25, 39; of England, 34; 
Italian, 48, 55; modern, 55; 
characteristics of, 55; fur- 
nishings, 55; colouring, 55; 
Colonial, 267; mediteval, 
267; Renaissance, 267; im- 
portance of, 268 

General Jacqueminot Rose, 
227. 

Gladioli, 356; varieties of, 359 

Gossamer Fern, 374 

Goldfish, in the pool, 383 

Grace Darling Rose, 239 

Gruss an Teplitz Rose, 240 



392 



INLEX 



Gravel, white, for garden 
paths, 361 

Haddon Hall, garden at, 270 

Hardy herbaceous plants, 
list of most important, 295, 
296; secondary list of, 341 

Harrison's Yellow Rose, 218 

Harmony, 47 

Half-timbered work, 44 

Hardy perpetual Roses, 221 

Hawthorne, native, 142 

Hedge, Box, 37 

Hedges, 19, 29; Box, 33, 203; 
materials for, 190; Privet, 
193, 194, 197, 201; Hem- 
lock, 194; Arbor Vita^, 207; 
Holly, 207; Rose, 263 

Heartsease, 292 

Hepplewhite, 19, 116 

Hemerocallis, 296; -fiava, 
fulva, 322; location in gar- 
den, 322 

Hibiscus Syriacus, 151 

Hickory trees, 94 

Honeysuckle, 189, 190, 254 

Holly, 162; native, 162 

Holly House, 145 

Hollyhock, 295; cultivation; 
diseases of; location in 
garden, 305 

Hybrid Tea Roses, hst of, 244 

Hypericum prolificum, 153 

Ilex opaca, 162; crenata, 197 
Individual taste, 77 
Individuality of the garden, 

73 
Instinct for colouring, 15 



Irish Juniper, 108 

Iris, German, 295; cultiva- 
tion, 296; Japan, 295; cul- 
tivation, 299, 300; sibirica, 
377 

Italian gardens, features of, 
268; bad copies of, 48 

Japanese Evergreens, 112 

Japanese Holly, 225 

Jonquils, in the garden, 287; 
naturalizing, 326; camper- 
nelle, 333; single yellow, 
333 

Kaiserin Augusta Rose, 239 
Kalmia latifolia, 158 
Kellie Castle, garden at, 274 
Killarney Rose, 238 
Kitchen-garden, 15 

Lady Slippers, 337 

Lavender, cultivation; loca- 
tion; varieties, 350 

Laburnum vulgare, 142 

La France Rose, 240 

Landscape, natural, 8 

Larch Trees, 148 

Laurel, 158 

Larkspur, in circular bed, 
292; way to grow, 304; 
cultivation of, 304 

Le Notre, magnificance of, 
269; teachings of, 269 

Levens, garden at, 277 

Lilacs, 137, 138; in the gar- 
den, 282; white, 71 

Lily, 22; white, in circular 
bed, 292 



INDEX 



393 



Lily-of-the- Valley, 61 

Lilies, with Rhododendrons, 
161; varieties of, 296; cul- 
tivation; location in gar- 
den, 312; shelter for, 315; 
naturalizing, 337; in the 
water garden, 312 

Ligustrum ovalifolium, 153 

Lilium auratum, 161, 316; 
candidum, 161, 316; longi- 
florum, 161, 318; Philadel- 
phicum, 316; speciosum, 
318; Canadense, 318; tigri- 
num, 161, 318; umbellatum, 
161, 317 

Linden Trees, 93 

Limnocharis (Water Poppy), 
381 

Location of the Garden, 
57 

Lonicera tartar ica, 154 

Marigold, 353 

Maiden's Blush Rose, 226 

Maple Trees, 8, 88; Red, 88; 

Sugar, 91; Norway, 93 

Silver, 93; Weeping, 93 
Maidenhair Fern, 378 
Madame Plantier Rose, 222, 

285 
Magnolias; soulangeana, con- 

spicui; stellata, 141 
Magna Charta Rose, 227 
McGowan's Pass 52 
Mildred Grant Rose, 238 
Michaelmas Daisy, 273 
Moat, 39 

Monkshood, 273, 274 
Mock Orange, 148 
Moss Roses, 217 



Monthly Roses, care of, 233; 

protection, 234; spraying 

of, 234; location for, 234; 

cultivation of, 234; soil 

for, 234; list of, 244 
Mrs. John Laing Rose, 228 
Mt. Vernon, 11, 29, 33 
Musk Rose, 225, 291 
M y r i o phyll^im (Parrot's 

Feather), 377 
Mysotis 345 

Narcissus, in the garden, 287; 
poeticus, 288; p. ornatus, 
288; naturalizing, 326; va- 
rieties for naturalizing, 329; 
cheapest, 330; list of named 
varieties, 330; double, 333 

Norway Spruce, 103 

Nordmann's Silver Fir, 104 

Nurserymen, 16 

Oaks, White, Red, Pin, 84; 
planting of, 84; most pic- 
turesque, 85; truth about, 
85; transplantation of Pin 
Oaks, 86 

Old Box, placing of, 67; 
planting, 67; use of, 67; 
location in old gardens and 
yards, 68; moving of, 120, 
123; treatment after mov- 
ing, 123; in the garden, 285 

Old Lilacs, 67; placing, 67; 
location in old gardens and 
yards, 68; as screens, 68; 
behind walls, 68; along 
lanes, 68; best varieties to 
use, 68; new French vari- 
eties, 71 ; budded on Privet, 



394 



INDEX 



71; growth of, 71; trans- 
plantation of large speci- 
mens, 72 ; selection of old 
specimens, 72 

Onoclea Struthiopteris, 374 

Ornaments, in the garden, 
362 

Osmunda regalis, 374 

Ostrich Fern, 374 

Osier Fences, 39 

Pansies, cultivation of, 354 
Paths, for the garden, 358 
Pathways, arboured, 190 
Parlour, 8 

Paul Neyron Rose, 228 
Park, Central, 30 
Parterres, geometrical, 40 
Pegging Perpetual Roses, 231 
Pergola at Arlington, 51 
Pergolas, to be avoided, 51; 

Rose, 51 ; as a dividing line, 

approach, etc., 51; rustic 

in Central Park, 52 
Peristyles, 30 
Perpetual Roses, wintering, 

231 
Persian Yellow Rose, 218 
Peonies, 291, 295 
Petunias, 357 

Philadelphus coronarhis, 148 
Phlox, in circular bed, 292, 

295; cultivation of, 309; 

list of best colours, 310, 311 
Picea N ordmanniana, 104 
Pin Oak, 84; characteristics 

of, 85 
Planning the grounds, 73 
Pleasure grounds, theatrical, 

56 



Plaisance, Pliny's, 115 

Pleasure garden, 11 

Pliny, 34; the younger, 268 

Pleached trees, 267 

Positions available for trees 
and shrubs, 78 

Poplar Trees, 94 

Posts, 186 

Polyantha Roses, list of, 244 

Poppies, 357 

Pool, construction of, 374; 
depth of, 383; protection 
of, in Winter, 383; fresh 
water for, 384 

Projects of designing and 
planting, 15 

Privet, 39; as topiary ma- 
terial, 203; in the water 
garden, 373 

Provence Rose, 214 

Pruning Roses, 232; shrubs, 
131 

Prairie Queen Rose, 248 

Red Cedar, 111; as a back- 
ground, 112 

Repertoire, 61 

Rose garden, plan of, 264 

Renaissance, 4 

Refinement, breath of, 19; 
of touch, 15 

Remontant Roses, 230; list 
of, 245, 246 

Rhododendron; viaximum, 
154, 157, 158; varieties of, 
161; varieties for water 
garden, 370 

Ribbon Bed, 265 

Rose garden, plan of, 264 

Roman gardens, 4 



INDEX 



395 



Roses, Summer, 221; use in 
England, 209 

Rosa centi folia, 214 

Rosa Gnllica, 217 

Rosa lucida, 218 

Rosa Rubignosa, 222 

Rosa mundi, 225 

Rosa Moschata, 225 

Rosa Alba, 226 

Rosa setegira, 248 

Rose Arbours, 252 

Rose Hedges, 263 

Rose Standards, 263 

Rugosa Rose, 213, 263; in 
flower garden, 282; in the 
water garden, 282; hy- 
brids, 214 

Rudbeckia, location in gar- 
den, 322 

Salem, 3 
Sanctuary, 4 
Screens, clipped, 38 
Scotch Briar Rose, 226 
Scirpus (Bulrush), 377 
Seclusion, high-walled, 39 
Sentiment, 22 
Setting, of the garden, 29 
Seats, for the garden, 367 
Sheraton, 19, 116 
Shrubs, 127; as individual 
specimens, 127; buying and 
choosing, 128, 131, 132, 
135; pruning, 131; fan- 
tastically clipped, 131; tag- 
ging for identification, 135; 
novelties, 135; for the 
yard, 147; list for planting, 
. 163; in the flower garden, 
281 



Simplicity, importance of, 48 

Snapdragon, 264 

Souvenir de President Car- 

not, Rose 239 
South, 1 6 ; formal gardens of, 

21; estates in, 11 
Staking out locations for 

trees, 78 
StobhaU, garden at, 270 
Stakes, in the garden, 323 
Stocks, 357 

Success, in cultivation, 62 
Surroundings in Winter and 

Spring, 78 
Sundial, 285, 286; location 

for, 362 
Sunflower, 358 
Sunlight, necessity of, 58 

Tea Roses, 221; list of, 244 

Tennyson, 22 

Thuja, occidentalis, 123; pyr- 
amidalis, 124 

Tiger Lily, 318 

Topiarius, 37 

Topiary work, in Italian gar- 
dens, 56; Amateur, 203 

Trim, for brick walls, 175 

Transplanting Roses, 229 

Trees, in relation to house 
and garden, 44; places for, 
78; planting well developed 
specimens, 78; expense of 
transplanting large trees, 
78; best to use for ground- 
work of planting, 81 ; guard- 
ing of, 82; contract con- 
cerning, 82; most valuable, 
82; discrimination in plant- 
ing, 83; most desirable, 84; 



396 



INDEX 



best for planting a small 
estate, 125; how to com- 
bine, 126; list for planting, 
163 

Tulip Tree, 93 

Tulips, Gesneriana; Bouton 
D'Or; Blushing Bride, 288; 
Bizarres and Bybloems, 
288; naturalizing, 334 

Typha latifolia (Cat-tail 
Flag), 377 

Ulrich Brunner Rose, 226 

Van Cortland Garden. 218 

Versailles, rival to garden at, 
16 

Viburnum plicatum, 151 

Virginia Creeper, 258 

Vines, for piers, posts, fences, 
arches, 259, 260; for ar- 
bour, 260; for house, 260 

Water Lilies, list of for ponds, 
tanks, tubs, 384; Hybrids, 
385; for shallow pools, 
tanks or tubs, 386 

Water garden, 369; plan of, 
370; background for, 374 

Washington, house of, 11, 29; 
garden of, 29 



Walls, mortar, 169; field 
stone, 169; loosely jointed, 
170; dry, 170; cut stone, 
173; for garden enclosure, 
173; best material for, 174 

Water plants, 369 

Walnut Tree, 94 

Wallflower, annual variety, 
357 

Weigelia, rosea, 151 

White Oak, 86 

White Pine, 100 

White Pines, 8 

White Cedar, 123 

White Lilies, in the water 
garden, 373 

White Bath Moss Rose, 217 

Whitsuntide Rose, 225 

Wistaria, 259 

Wild flowers, naturalizing, 
338 

Willow, golden, 370; white, 
370 

Yard, New England, 21 
Yellow Roses, 218 
Yew, 34, 39; arches of, 274 
York and Lancaster Rose, 
218 

Zinnia, 353 



AIR 19 1806 



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